PML-N opposes ISI chief extension

ISLAMABAD: The PML-N on Tuesday opposed the extension given by the government to in-service Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Major General Shuja Pasha.

In an interview to Express News programme Pakistan Bolta Hai with Munizae Jahangir, PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar said the ISI chief is already on an extension, and the PML-N was not consulted on a second extension.

Lieutenant General Pasha, director general of the military's ISI agency, is due to retire this month but will remain in office, perhaps for two more years, theDawn newspaper reported.

Pasha, a former head of military operations for the army, was appointed head of the ISI in September 2008, at a time when US officials questioned the reliability of the spy agency in the campaign against militancy.

Discussing the issue of the NAB chairman case, Nisar  said that his party would wait for the detailed decision of the Supreme Court on the case before replying to the letter written to him by President Asif Ali Zardari. However, he added that there were several questions that he also wanted to ask President Zardari on the issue.

Earlier, Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani’s spokesman had refuted  Nisar’s claim of not receiving a letter sent by the President about the NAB chief.

The spokesman claims the letter was received by Chaudhry Nisar’s guard at the opposition leader’s residence in Rawalpindi on March 11. The letter was written in connection with consultation on the appointment of NAB chairman after the Supreme Court ruled Deedar Hussain Shah’s appointment illegal.

Referring to the PML-N's role in the current setup, Nisar said his party would not adopt any unconstitutional or un-parliamentary path but the PML-N was in a position to give the government a tough time.