Nisar warns govt against removing army, ISI chiefs
Opposition leader censures PM Gilani over comments about the security establishment.
ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on Saturday threatened agitation if the government took any steps against the chief of army staff and director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence prior to the Supreme Court’s decision on Memogate.
Leader of the opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan conveyed his party’s message to the government at a press conference in the capital. Nisar expressed apprehension that the government might try to remove COAS Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and DG ISI Lt. Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha.
“If the government takes any action in desperation, not only the opposition but the entire nation will strongly stand up against it,” Nisar said.
Nisar also asked Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to retract the statement he gave in the National Assembly, which appeared to hold the security establishment responsible for the presence of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in the country. “What services did the Prime Minister render to Pakistan by questioning the defence institutions for the presence of Osama bin Laden in the country?” he asked.
“This is what the entire world is blaming us for, and with PM Gilani hurling these allegations, they do not need any more evidence,” he added, saying the government should not tarnish the image of the army at a time when our soldiers are giving their lives in fight against terrorism.
Nisar went on in this vein, claiming President Asif Zardari started such a trend two and a half years ago when, on the eve of Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary, he pointed the finger at the judiciary and the armed forces regarding conspiracies against the government.
“This government has weakened the system to that extant that it needs a statement from COAS to regain confidence,” he said. Nisar also said that the prime minister had repeatedly stated that all institutions, including the army and ISI, were under his supervision, and therefore his remarks of them being a ‘state within a state’ were ironic. He further said that the PM had tried to divert attention from his government’s ‘incompetence and malpractices’.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2011.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on Saturday threatened agitation if the government took any steps against the chief of army staff and director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence prior to the Supreme Court’s decision on Memogate.
Leader of the opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan conveyed his party’s message to the government at a press conference in the capital. Nisar expressed apprehension that the government might try to remove COAS Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and DG ISI Lt. Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha.
“If the government takes any action in desperation, not only the opposition but the entire nation will strongly stand up against it,” Nisar said.
Nisar also asked Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to retract the statement he gave in the National Assembly, which appeared to hold the security establishment responsible for the presence of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in the country. “What services did the Prime Minister render to Pakistan by questioning the defence institutions for the presence of Osama bin Laden in the country?” he asked.
“This is what the entire world is blaming us for, and with PM Gilani hurling these allegations, they do not need any more evidence,” he added, saying the government should not tarnish the image of the army at a time when our soldiers are giving their lives in fight against terrorism.
Nisar went on in this vein, claiming President Asif Zardari started such a trend two and a half years ago when, on the eve of Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary, he pointed the finger at the judiciary and the armed forces regarding conspiracies against the government.
“This government has weakened the system to that extant that it needs a statement from COAS to regain confidence,” he said. Nisar also said that the prime minister had repeatedly stated that all institutions, including the army and ISI, were under his supervision, and therefore his remarks of them being a ‘state within a state’ were ironic. He further said that the PM had tried to divert attention from his government’s ‘incompetence and malpractices’.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2011.