General Raheel Sharif. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
The country’s top military commanders will meet today against the backdrop of apparent tensions with the government over the ongoing treason trial against General (retd) Pervez Musharraf.
The meeting, which is dubbed a routine affair by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), will be chaired by Army Chief General Raheel Sharif in Rawalpindi.
The meeting comes a day after General Raheel responded to what the ISPR described as ‘undue criticism of the army’. In a rare public statement, the army chief made it clear that the military will uphold the sanctity of all institutions but will ‘resolutely preserve’ its own dignity and institutional pride.
The army chief’s unusual remarks are attributed to the growing unease within the military ranks over certain statements made by senior cabinet members over Musharraf’s trial.
In an immediate attempt to limit the damage, the PM reportedly asked cabinet ministers to desist from making such statements.
On Tuesday, Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafiq, who is said to be at the centre of the storm, insisted that the army chief was not reacting to remarks he made last week in the National Assembly about the trial.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a security official said the top brass would ‘debate’ the prevailing situation as well as security matters, particularly peace talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The army reportedly opposed last week’s release of ‘non-combatant’ Taliban.
The official claimed that the majority of names mentioned in the Taliban’s list were combatants.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 9th, 2014.
COMMENTS (2)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
Uncle nawaz and his rest of punctures are heading towards another sink hole.
There is no such thing as non-combating Taliban. They are all the same, enemies. Period. when will we be able to call bad BAD and good GOOD