Summary Army does not have any right to interfere in civil matters, says Aitzaz Ahsan
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Discussion about good governance seeped into Senate on Thursday after National Assembly (NA) saw criticism over Pakistan Army’s statement.
Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani has recommended the government to call an in-camera session. Senate saw a strong criticism over Pakistan Army’s statement over civil affairs. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senators criticised the army.
Farhatullah Babar said that poor governance is there in civil departments, judiciary and armed forces as well. He said that the way adopted by army commanders to raise the issue was wrong. Such statement depicts government’s inefficiency, he added.
He said that the government should have given an explanation in the matter however, they are not present. Chairman Rabbani remarked, that is why the government has been tagged with poor governance allegations.
He said that the government neither has a permanent foreign minister nor defense minister.
Opposition leader Aitzaz Ahsan said that the army does not have any right to interfere in civil matters. He said that government members appear in talk shows and target opposition’s character.
Read Pakistan Army s statement that has attracted criticism: Good governance necessary for better results: Army chief
Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party’s (PkMAP) Usman Kakkar said that army is constantly interfering in foreign and interior policies. He said that policies are to be chalked by the elected leaders and not by the army. The Senate Chairman said that he could only recommend the government to limit functioning of all institutions within the Constitution of Pakistan.
He said that the government should hold an in-camera session and if possible, bring the discussion to the Senate. Solution to problems can be found in the Parliament, he added.
Senator Mohsin Laghari said that be it quakes or floods, army is called every single time because civil institutions do not shoulder responsibilities. Army deployment is also needed for elections, he added. However, he said that army should not have breached the civil premises and talked about governance.
On the other hand, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has said that the people of the country also demand good governance besides army.
READ MORE: Better governance is demand of Pakistanis, not just Army: Imran Khan
