Kh Asif denies PM House received summary for appointment of Army Chief
Pakistan
Kh Asif denies PM House received summary for appointment of Army Chief
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday denied the reports that the Prime Minister House has received the summary for the appointment of the next chief of army staff (COAS).
In his latest Tweet, the defence minister said that the Prime Minister has not yet received the summary and will be confirmed once the PMO received the summary.
On the other hand, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb wrote on social networking website Twitter that the statement attributed to Defense Minister Khawaja Asif is not true.
She said that the Prime Minister House has not yet received the summary and speculation shouldn’t be made over this sensitive matter.
PM’s letter communicated to GHQ
On Monday, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif informed the National Assembly that the Prime Minister’s letter for the appointment of new Chief of Army Staff (COAS) has been communicated to the General Headquarters (GHQ) by the defense ministry.
The process of appointment of new COAS will be completed in a couple of days, said the defense minister adding that after the new appointment the chaos will be subsided.
He requested the media to maintain the sanctity of the constitutional procedure of the appointment of the new army chief adding that the government will deal with PTI chief Imran Khan at the completion of the process.
Khawaja Asif said Imran Khan’s political tactics to come back in power are damaging the unity of the country and the nation along with the respect and sanctity of the institutions that supported him for four years unconditionally.
The institution after 75 years announced the univocal neutrality and returning to its constitutional role but Imran Khan is mocking or taunting the institute for its decision, said the minister. He said Imran Khan should be ashamed that he failed to deliver despite the unconditional support of the institution, instead of attacking on them.
The 70 years record of “Tosha Khana” is available many rulers bought gifts from “Tosha Khana” but Imran Khan is the first one who sold gifts in the market to make money, he added. “I am surprised to think about the morals and standards of Imran Khan’s followers” said the minister adding that Imran Khan was caught red-handed. He said Imran Khan blamed the United States of America (USA) for the vote of no-confidence against him but after a few months, he exonerated the USA from the blame.
Secondly, he blamed the Army, Intelligence agencies and establishment for supporting the opposition in a vote of no confidence motion against him but now he also exonerated them which is a blessing that he admitted his ouster by the parliamentarians in a constitutional way. “Imran Khan had been inviting Army to take control of the country through martial law, but they refused,” said the minister.
He said the establishment took over the country four times in the past and directly ruled for thirty-seven years out of which Ayub Khan ruled for eleven years, Yahya Khan ruled for three years, General Zia ruled for eleven years and General Musharraf ruled for nine years but now the institute has decided to be neutral and play their apolitical role in accordance with the Constitution.
On Friday, Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif said that the process appoint new army chief will begin from Monday and a consensus was created in Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s meeting with President Dr Arif Alvi.
