Constitution mandates army to stand with govt: Fawad

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Thursday portrayed the top opposition leadership as anti-army and linked their no-confidence motion to their long-standing unfulfilled desire to have political control over the institution.

“Under the constitutional scheme,” the government’s spokesperson while replying to a question said, “The army always stands with the sitting government,” and added that the army has to obey the Constitution.

After running a few video clips and naming the opposition leadership — former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, former president Asif Ali Zardari and JUI-F and PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman — the minister alleged that the anti-army campaign was being run by them and said the opposition’s no-trust move was an attempt to turn the army into Punjab police. “Their agenda to have political control on the army is not new.”

“The agenda that they [opposition] are giving is that they want to have political control over the army,” the information minister said.

“Subduing the army is an old dream of Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari and Maulana Fazlur Rehman,” the minister added.

Fawad’s news conference was loaded with video clips and news stories that, apparently, conveyed that the opposition leadership had issued anti-army statements in the past and their attacks continued till the recent past.

Subsequently, the minister after revealing that Nawaz and Indian PM Narendra Modi had a secret meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal, recalled that Modi came to Pakistan to attend a wedding ceremony of the Sharif family without having a visa at a time when Modi was labelling former army chief Raheel Sharif a “terrorist” and Nawaz was a “patriot”.

Terming them as lethal attacks by Modi, Fawad with the help of another video clip of Foreign Office’s former spokesperson Tasneem Aslam, said that Nawaz had allegedly stopped the office from issuing statements against India, implying Nawaz might have got some benefits because of the decision but the country didn’t get any.

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In the news conference, Fawad said that the opposition’s other objection was why Prime Minister Imran Khan said “Absolutely Not” to the US and why he talked about the European Union.

“Basically, their objection is that why Pakistan has an independent foreign policy,” Fawad said, adding the people of Pakistan has to decide if they want to keep protecting the opposition leaders’ interest that has been targeting the army.

Fawad said that Pakistan wants to have “good relations” with the US and the EU, saying self-respect could not be compromised for continuing trade relations. He said that trade relations were of mutual nature, adding independent foreign policy would continue.

On the no-trust motion, Fawad said that the government wanted to end the ongoing “political drama” before the conference of the OIC Council of foreign ministers and the March 23 parade, where the foreign ministers are among the guests. “We want to end this political drama before these events,” he said.

On the National Assembly session and the voting process over the motion, Fawad said that calling the session was the prerogative of the Speaker Asad Qaiser and he has the authority to take action the moment any lawmaker crosses the floor. He emphasised that it shouldn’t be the case that first someone should be allowed to do the wrong and then law should come into action.

Responding to another question about getting the support of disgruntled members and government’s allies, Fawad reiterated that the government has the support from everyone.

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He said the government was in touch with the PTI’s estranged leaders, Jahangir Khan Tareen and Aleem Khan, saying negotiation would continue and a united response would be given.

Fawad said the PTI had enough numbers to foil the opposition's no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying he had the support of 179 lawmakers and the number might touch 184 with the inclusion of five more legislators of other political parties in the PTI's ranks.

Fawad started his news conference with a video clip of Tuesday's joint presser of the opposition parties’ heads where Maulana Fazlur Rehman expressed his keen interest in "reforming state institutions".

“It is in fact the restart of their attempts to get a stranglehold over state institutions through their so-called reforms,” he added.

While playing the documentary of a private news channel on the ‘Memogate scandal' revealing that the then president Asif Ali Zardari had reached out to the American Establishment to save his government in the aftermath of the Abbottabad episode, he said the video clips highlighted as to how all three leaders, including Asif Zardari, Fazlur Rehman and Nawaz Sharif, had hatched conspiracies against the state institutions.

Fazl's statement, he added, had exposed the opposition's plans for the “political control” on the institution. “This is not a starter.”