Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar speaks during a news conference in Islamabad. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
Speaking on the National Assembly floor, Nisar said any kind of controversy related to the armed forces is “worse than poison” for Pakistan at this critical juncture.
Criticising former president Pervez Musharraf’s “misuse of the army”, Nisar said the forces were not an individual, but an institution, and in the case of Taliban talks, the military had exercised great restraint and created an environment conducive to talks despite ongoing terrorist attacks.
Describing the initial process of dialogue prior to the drone attack in which Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud was killed, Nisar said the TTP had demanded face-to-face dialogue, to which the government had demanded an end to terror attacks.
He stated that there had been no attacks for three weeks following this exchange, after which the government moved to advance the talks. He added that there was no guarantee at the time the talks would have succeeded, but a detailed plan was in place to get the provinces and more political leaders involved in the process.
“Now we have to pick up the pieces,” Nisar lamented, adding that the government would have to analyse how the next 4-6 weeks play out.
The dialogue process with theTTP cannot move forward if there are more drone attacks, the interior minister reiterated.
He also claimed that there are still stakeholders interested in continuing the dialogue process, despite the devastating impact of the drone attack that killed the TTP chief.
Background
Nisar's statements on martyrdom were directed towards the brewing controversy over Jamaat-e-Islami's (JI) ameer Munawar Hassan calling the slain Mehsud a 'martyr.'
Many politicians have criticised the JI chief's remarks and members of the Sindh Assembly even passed a resolution against him on Monday.
The army had also issued a press release in which it demanded an "unconditional apology' from Hassan.
“Syed Munawar Hassan has tried to invent a logic based on his political convenience. Strong condemnation of his views from an overwhelming majority leaves no doubt in any one’s mind that all of us are very clear on what the state of Pakistan is and who its enemies are,” a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had said.
COMMENTS (28)
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JI Chief's comments are wrong but ISPR is no angel here. And same goes for those sitting in Sindh assembly who have been calling their political gangsters as martyrs. Coming to the great army (as we call it), if you don't like peace talks, go win the war for us? No, got kicked badly? then please stay aside and let the talks move on so that we can put an end to this madness. The truth is, the army does not want the war to be over. It is a revenue generation, the longer it continues, the richer the generals get!
@Rex Minor:
Why do you always tend to sign at the end of your comments? Do you think people here will confuse your comments with someone else? I realize you do it so come across as cool and suave but trust me, you come across as an idiot.
iLiberal
In his position as Interior Minister of Pakistan, Ch. Nisar is right and duty-bound to condemn any kind of discussion on martyrdom, especially when it is concerning controversial figures. Pakistan as a country cannot afford divisive discussions like who is a martyr and who is not?
Mr .Nisar..... renounce the American citizen ship of your wife and daughter
Oh God... the Interior Minister of Pakistan... didn't condemned the JI's stance against Army.
All is well since benefits are mutual.
Just WHY is Pakistan always characterized as being at a "critical juncture" ??? Seems like this has become its permanent address ...!!!
PMLN is responsible for drone attack on Mehsood They gave information to america
Kudos to Salim Safi for xposing JI. The damage is done just like Sufi Mohammad was exposed which paved the way for Swat operation. These mullahs have done more damage to religion and country than anyone. Time to ban them. BTW where is the govt. standing on this issue? will someone clarify?
ISPR statement came after Nawaz Sharif Government failed to do its duty & condemn the statement of JI
Conclusive discussion on who is & who is not a martyr is very much essential to expose the hypocrites who feel no shame declaring terrorists as martyrs.
We are a 'nuclear' armed nation, we need to turn it around with a 'new clear' vision. Lot of naysayers are keeping people away from turning it into a nation.To turn around the nation we need to shun the bigotry and need to shun the chauvinism so that we came out as one nation.
@Jibran: The interior minister is a politician and not a Qazi in the court. Why should any sound thinking politician in Pakistan condemn the Talibans, which would place the cavalier instantly on their hit list!! Not a nice proposition sir.
Rex Minor
When someone is killed by drone it is called martyredrone and not martyrdom...correction
I don't like this guy.
Pot calling the Kettle black? I would argue that IM emotional attack against the USA accusing it of sabotaging talks was tinder added to a fire - pandering to anti USA sentiment that got out of control
As every great country including India is developing science and technology, pakistan still stucked with martyrdom.People is busy thinking of martyrdom or not and not any thing fruitfull.Shame
The nation is with ISPR. Jumat e Islami should leave this country and go to Afghanistan to fight against the Americans.
He should have condemned ji
After killing of Hakim Ullah, Media had no debate for few days to offer public. and now they got an issue blowing it , milking it to keep viewers
Although, not a PMLN Supporter, but can't help agreeing with Ch Nisar on this one. We have to move forward and think for the betterment of the nation. This should serve as a wake-up call of Taliban Supporter and Taliban Apologists (JI, JUI & PTI).
Despite of ISPR declaration, I totally agree with Munwar Hassan, he is right. It's army's fault why they established so called "Mujah-e-din" to fight every one. More than 100,000 Kashmiri been killed any outcome...???....we can't know how to govern this country and struggling for Kashmir.....it's true that "Every country has Army" but "Pakistan Army has a country".
The shut up call should have come from the government instead of ISPR. But, as usual, PMLN is busy stuffing its pockets, and praising the TTP, they had no time to condemn Manawar Hasan's statement.
You are still wrong and your adamant adherence to your fallacy about the enemies being stake holders in our national issues is most damaging in addition to the mullahs declaring the terrorists shaheeds, those who inflicted most painful scars on our national psyche. Yes, you may collect the pieces of the fabrication that you tried to force down our throats, your best friends smashed the rosy pictures of falsehood you painted and admire so much. Tough!
Mr Interior Minister the Americans are, slowly but surely, disassembling the Pakistani state. Stop them if you can...
It is time that the Nation, if you call it a Nation, be told the truth! There is no martyrdom in violence against humans. Pakistan army must be reformed into a national army and not of the colonial times ruler army. An army of politics is a poison for the peole and the country.
Rex Minor
Criticising former president Pervez Musharraf’s “misuse of the army”, Nisar said the forces were not an individual, but an institution.
Has Nisar ever condemned Taliban?
As usual Ch. Nisar dances around the question, and refuses to make a clear statement. We need to know what where does government stand on this. Where defense minister is hiding? If he has woken up from his hibernation, would he care to come out of his burrow.