‘No rift’ between government and military

Irfan Siddiqui says govt committed to eliminating terrorism

LAHORE: There is no rift between the government and military as evident from the smooth exit of the army chief and appointment of his successor, said Prime Minister’s Adviser on National History and Literary Heritage Irfan Siddiqui.

“The departure of former Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif, who served his three-year tenure, and handed over command to his successor appointed by the government shows there is no rift between the government and military,” he said while speaking at the launching ceremony of a thematic calendar held at a hotel on Thursday.

Irfan maintained that Operation Zarb-e-Azb on the will of the current government and carried out with the help of the army and citizens collectively.

“No such operation was carried out in the Musharraf era,” he said. “Then came the five-year tenure of the Pakistan Peoples Party but they also did not make any effort to root out terrorism.”

He credited the Nawaz Sharif-led government for showing the political will to launch the ongoing operation against terrorism.

Without referring to political opponents, the former columnist said the decision of the majority of Pakistani people should be respected, considered as final and accepted by all quarters. “The people of Pakistan will decide whether this government is good or bad,” he said.

“The people will decide who will rule in this country when the time comes,” Irfan reiterated, adding the next general elections would be held, as per schedule, and people would decide whether they wanted the same government or not.

The adviser expressed sorrow and grief over the loss of lives in the PIA plane crash near Abbottabad, saying the entire nation was mourning the deaths of such a large number of people in an unfortunate accident.

He also termed the launch of the thematic calendar a worthy effort to introduce Pakistan Movement and struggle of Pakistan among doctors and the public.

The calendar on the history of Pakistan has been launched by Jahan-e-Masiha Adbi Forum in collaboration with a pharmaceutical company to inform people, especially the medical fraternity and students, about the struggle and sacrifices given for Pakistan.

Senior literary personalities, including eminent writer and poet Khwaja Razi Haider, doctors including Dr Fareed Zafar, Dr Sajid Maqbool, Dr Tariq Waseem, Dr Zohra Khanam, Dr Asma Gul, Syed Jamshed Ahmed and Dr Iqbal Ahmed also addressed the ceremony.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2016.