Athar Abbas comments: Ex-servicemen cautioned against public statements
Nisar says revealing military leadership’s decisions may create difficulties.
ISLAMABAD:
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has cautioned retired senior servicemen about making statements on current developments in the country.
“Senior retired army officers should be very careful while making statements regarding the current sensitive situation prevailing in the country,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
The statement came two days after former Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general (DG) Maj-Gen (retd) Athar Abbas told the BBC in an interview that former army chief Gen (retd) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was reluctant to launch a military operation in North Waziristan Agency.
While answering reporters’ questions about the former army spokesperson’s statement, Nisar said “wisdom and prudence demand that people who were involved in important decisions should be secretive as it would be good for the nation and the country.”
“In this age of media, any little slip of the tongue can create an adverse situation [for the country],” he said. “At this stage of history, bringing into open decisions of the current or former leadership of the military in this way may create difficulties but cannot be helpful in providing a solution,” he added.
The interior minister appealed to the media to show restraint in making this statement a topic of discussion at a time when Pakistan direly needs unity.
In his interview with the BBC on Monday, Maj-Gen (retd) Athar Abbas disclosed that the army was on the brink of launching a military offensive in North Waziristan three years ago, but was unable to due to Kayani’s reluctance.
He said the military leadership had given the go-head for an operation in North Waziristan in 2010, and preparations for it were made for one year, but it was pulled back at the last minute due to ‘Kayani’s indecisiveness’.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2014.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has cautioned retired senior servicemen about making statements on current developments in the country.
“Senior retired army officers should be very careful while making statements regarding the current sensitive situation prevailing in the country,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
The statement came two days after former Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general (DG) Maj-Gen (retd) Athar Abbas told the BBC in an interview that former army chief Gen (retd) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was reluctant to launch a military operation in North Waziristan Agency.
While answering reporters’ questions about the former army spokesperson’s statement, Nisar said “wisdom and prudence demand that people who were involved in important decisions should be secretive as it would be good for the nation and the country.”
“In this age of media, any little slip of the tongue can create an adverse situation [for the country],” he said. “At this stage of history, bringing into open decisions of the current or former leadership of the military in this way may create difficulties but cannot be helpful in providing a solution,” he added.
The interior minister appealed to the media to show restraint in making this statement a topic of discussion at a time when Pakistan direly needs unity.
In his interview with the BBC on Monday, Maj-Gen (retd) Athar Abbas disclosed that the army was on the brink of launching a military offensive in North Waziristan three years ago, but was unable to due to Kayani’s reluctance.
He said the military leadership had given the go-head for an operation in North Waziristan in 2010, and preparations for it were made for one year, but it was pulled back at the last minute due to ‘Kayani’s indecisiveness’.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2014.