Shun ‘Naya’ & ‘Purana’, talk about ‘our’ Pakistan: COAS

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir has called upon everyone to give up the debate of “Naya” and “Purana” and instead talk about “our Pakistan”.

He also explained that the current campaign against terrorists was part of the already approved strategy of the state. “This campaign will include all the necessary components of the government like legal, economic, social and foreign besides security institutions,” he said during an in-camera briefing on national security situation in the National Assembly Hall on Friday.

According to sources privy to the session, Gen Asim said, "The elected representatives of people should determine the country's destination, and the army will fully support them in the journey to development and success."

The MNAs welcomed the army chief's views by thumping desks while Gen Asim congratulated the parliament and its members on the 50th anniversary of the implementation of the 1973 Constitution.

People exercise their right to express opinion through the Constitution and parliament, he said, adding that “sovereignty belongs to Almighty Allah and the Constitution has been empowered by the command of Allah Almighty”. He added that the Constitution states that the power will be exercised by the elected representatives of the people.

This was Gen Asim’s first briefing to lawmakers after he took over from his predecessor Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa in November last year.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, DG ISI, DGMO, and top military officials, federal secretaries for interior, foreign, finance, defence and broadcasting, four provincial chief ministers and as many provincial chief secretaries as well as IGs attended the in-camera session.

The briefing was arranged against the backdrop of a resurgence of terrorism in the country and the recent decision by the government to launch a fresh campaign to stem the tide of terrorist violence.

However, it assumed great significance in view of the current political tensions where the government and the Supreme Court are at loggerheads over the issue of holding elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as well as clipping powers of the chief justice of Pakistan.

While responding to questions from the MNAs, Gen Asim said that talking to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was a mistake.

After the Taliban takeover, Pakistan initiated talks with the TTP. Initially talks made some progress as the two sides entered into a ceasefire and Pakistan allowed hundreds of TTP fighters to return as a confidence-building measure. But the move quickly backfired as the returning terrorists started challenging the writ of the state.

The government and the establishment no longer are following the policy of the previous government.

Gen Asim explained that the current campaign against terrorists was part of the already approved and ongoing strategy of the state of Pakistan. “This is not a new operation but a whole of nation approach that reflects the unwavering confidence of the people and which includes all elements of the state,” he clarified.

“At present there is no no-go area in Pakistan, Alhamdulillah,” the army chief said. “We owe this success to the sacrifices of a large number of martyrs and ghazis,” he added. “Terrorists have no option but to accept the writ of the state.”

The army chief said that security forces were prepared to maintain peace in the country, as “intelligence-based operations are being conducted on a daily basis” for this purpose.

Meanwhile, the top military officials briefed on internal security. The DGMO took the house into confidence on law and order and counter-terrorism operations in Waziristan.

Prime Minister Shehbaz said that peace was restored by the great “sacrifices of our martyrs”, adding that this hard earned gains had been squandered in the last four years.

“Why has terrorism returned in the country? Who brought it? All the provinces had given funds for the purposes of ending terrorism and reforming [erstwhile] Fata, where did those funds go? Where have been the resources of billions of rupees given to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa used? All these questions have to be answered,” he said.