ISLAMABAD: A senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party said on Tuesday former prime minister Imran Khan had launched his protest march to the federal capital last week to prevent the current administration from appointing the new army chief.
Pakistan’s current army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, will complete his tenure on November 28. He became the army chief in November 2016 and was given a three-year extension in 2019 when Khan was in power.
Addressing a news conference in London, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz Sharif said the former prime minister was not trying to achieve some vital national objective through his protest march.
“There is only one objective of this march which is to prevent the government from appointing the new army chief,” she said. “They want to interfere with the process.”
Khan, who is also the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was ousted in a no-trust vote in April. He has previously alleged that the current political administration of the country wants to appoint an army chief of its choice who will not question it over corruption.
The PTI chief has also maintained the incumbent government does not have the right to appoint the head of the most important institution in the country, adding it should hold fresh elections and let the new government make the appointment.
Khan has also criticized Pakistan’s the security establishment since his ouster for working with his political rivals.
“Almost every political party has criticized state institutions during the country’s political and democratic history,” the PML-N vice president said. “However, that criticism used to be different. It was issue-based and for course-correction. It was also carried out under the principles of democracy.”
She maintained Khan’s criticism was not grounded in democratic values, adding his only objective was to regain the establishment’s support and turn it into his “crutches.”
Ex-PM Khan’s protest march launched to keep government from appointing army chief — Maryam Sharif
https://arab.news/z2p7u
Ex-PM Khan’s protest march launched to keep government from appointing army chief — Maryam Sharif
- The ruling PML-N leader calls the PTI chief’s criticism of the establishment an attempt to regain support
- Sharif tells journalists in London criticism of state institutions should be based on democratic principles
Peace can only prevail if Afghanistan renounces support for ‘terrorism’— Pakistan defense chief
- Pakistan’s chief of defense forces visits South Waziristan district bordering Afghanistan
- Pakistan says has killed 481 Afghan Taliban operatives since clashes began last Thursday
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir said on Wednesday that peace with Afghanistan can only prevail if Kabul renounces support for “terrorism” and “terrorist” organizations, the military’s media wing said as the two countries remain locked in conflict.
Fighting between the two neighbors, the worst in decades, broke out last Thursday night after Afghan forces attacked Pakistan’s military installations along their shared border. Afghanistan said its attacks were in response to earlier airstrikes by Pakistan against alleged militant hideouts in its country.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of sheltering militant outfits such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on its soil who have launched attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces in recent years. Kabul denies the allegations.
Munir visited Wana town in Pakistan’s South Waziristan district to review the security situation and troops’ operational preparedness at the Afghan border, the Pakistani military’s media wing said in a statement.
“The Field Marshal reiterated that peace could only prevail between both sides if the Afghan Taliban renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organizations,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
The military chief said the use of Afghan soil by militant outfits to launch attacks against Pakistan was unacceptable, vowing that “all necessary measures” would be taken to neutralize cross-border threats.
During the visit, Munir was briefed by military commanders about ongoing intelligence-based operations and measures being taken by the military to manage the border with Afghanistan.
He was also briefed about “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq” or “Wrath for the Truth,” the name Pakistan has given to its military operation against Afghan forces, the ISPR said.
The Pakistani military chief spoke to troops deployed in the area, praising their vigilance, professional conduct and high morale, the ISPR said.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the military has killed 481 Taliban operatives, injured more than 690 and destroyed 226 Afghan checkposts since clashes began.
Arab News has been unable to verify claims by both sides about the damages they claim to have inflicted on each other.
Afghanistan has signaled it is open for dialogue but Pakistan rejected the offer, saying it would continue its military operations till its objectives were achieved.
Since the conflict began, diplomatic efforts have intensified with several countries, including global bodies such as the European Union and United Nations, urging restraint and calling for talks.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Ankara would help reinstate a ceasefire, the Turkish Presidency said on Tuesday, as other countries that had offered to mediate have since been hit by the conflict in the Gulf.
