Saad Rafique advises military against meddling in politics

16 prime ministers have been overthrown, says the minister questioning lack of action against other institutions

ISLAMABAD: Days after the army brokered a deal between protesters in Islamabad and the government, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said on Sunday that the role of the armed forces was limited to security and they should not take interest in politics.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of veteran politician Javed Hashmi's book Zinda Tareekh, he said there was not a single person in Pakistan who did not love the armed forces, therefore, the military should avoid controversies and play its due role for the country’s security and integrity.

“Politicians can be replaced, but there is no replacement for the armed forces,” said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart. “However, we won’t compromise on the supremacy of the Constitution… there is a huge difference between a dictatorship and the army’s professional role,” he added.

Commenting on recent cases against the party and its leadership, Rafique said the PML-N had not struggled to restore the judiciary so that it could issue contentious verdicts. “After the restoration of [former] chief justice [Iftikhar Chaudhry], we thought the judiciary was free, but then it started issuing verdicts against us and the elected prime minister was disqualified,” he said, adding that the masses did not accept such verdicts.

Rafique said 16 prime ministers had been overthrown on various allegations in the country’s history and lack of action against the heads of other institutions was questionable. “Why Pervez Musharraf is not being held accountable… why doesn’t anyone launch an investigation against the son of former chief justice?” he asked.

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The minister said his party would not allow a handful of people to decide the fate of Pakistan, adding that deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif had been chosen to head the PML-N to prove the same point. “And we are proud of that decision,” he added.

“Curbing the right to politics and freedom of expression will lead to compromises on national security and sovereignty,” said Rafique, adding that there was a need to bury the ‘doctrine of necessity’.

Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani said the Islamabad protest was in violation of Article 256 of the Constitution which barred formation of a private army. He said it had been widely reported that protesters were armed with sophisticated weapons.

“Through that protest writ of the state was challenged,” he observed, adding that Pakistan could not bear the burden of more warlords as there were already enough of them.

He said recent events suggested that some elements were busy furthering their political agendas in the garb of religion, which would prove lethal for the state.

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Rabbani said Hashmi’s struggle was for a stronger federation with rule of law. He said that during military dictator Ziaul Haq’s rule, restrictions were imposed on trade unions and student politics, while liberal writers and associations were targeted. That was the reason university students were now found involved in terrorist activities, he said.

He said the current political and security situation demanded that all state institutions should work side by side.