Rashid says armed forces never indulged in politics

Interior minister stresses that army will remain with democracy

ISLAMABAD:

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Monday said that “Pakistan’s armed forces had never indulged in politics” nor do they intend to do so.

“It [army] was, is and will remain with democracy,” the interior minister said while talking to media persons in the federal capital.

Rashid was referring to the 11-party opposition alliance – the Pakistan Democratic Movement – Sunday rally in which the leaders asked the “selectors to withdraw their support for [Prime Minister] Imran Khan”.

During the media-talk, he said that the PDM failed to mention those days when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had ties with the military. “Its leadership had served dictator Ziaul Haq for personal gains.”

To a question, the minister said that the opposition parties just want clearance in their National Accountability Bureau cases. He expressed confidence that they would not only participate in the upcoming Senate elections, but would also review the decision of tendering resignations of their parliamentarians.

To another question about confirmation of resignation by PML-N MNA Murtaza Javed Abbasi, the minister was of the view that Murtaza would refuse to send his resignation to the National Assembly speaker.

“As per law, only handwritten resignations duly signed by the members and having required details are considered for further necessary action, while all ‘typed or computerised’ resignations have no legal status.”

On the PDM’s so-called long march on Islamabad, the minister, on a sarcastic note, said that the government had not yet decided to establish the “reception camps” for them.

"We will decide about this after the date is announced by the PDM [for its long march]. We have not held any meeting yet to decide that when and where the reception camps have to be set up," he added.

The interior minister also praised the Pakistani media, saying that no media could beat it because they were more responsible and effectively creating awareness among the public about all necessary measures to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus.