Army not destabilising civilian govt, says Pak army chief
WEB DESK
Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday said that country military was committed to democracy and the rule of law and denied the military’s role in destabilising the civilian government.
Speaking at an ‘in-camera session’ of the Senate Committee, the army chief, deliberated on a wide range of topics from politics and frayed civil-military ties to counter terrorism operations and foreign policy.
According to Dawn News, the army chief reportedly said that the military was ready to back political leadership’s initiative for normalisation of relations with arch rival India.
Gen Bajwa, according to a couple of senators, said that relations with all neighbours had to be normalised and urged political leaders to try to improve relations with India. He assured that their efforts would be fully supported by the army.
The general’s offer was particularly significant because India believes that the Pak army has been blocking peace efforts.
Responding to a question the army chief defended the brokering of the deal between the government and the organisers of the 22-day sit-in at Faizabad interchange, the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah.
He said the situation could have aggravated had the military not played its part.
According to Dawn news Gen Bajwa, said he firmly believed in democracy and supremacy of the Constitution. However, he did not deny mistakes in the past and, in a reference to generals Zia and Musharraf, reportedly said he could not be held responsible for others. He is reported to have even asked parliament to take the lead in framing foreign and security policies and vowed to implement them.
Gen Bajwa was invited by Senate Chairman Mian Rabbani to share military’s position on certain key foreign policy and security issues. The official agenda of the meeting was to have a “briefing by the Chief of Army Staff and Director General Military Operations on the emerging national security paradigm for Pakistan with respect to recent visits and developments”.
It was the first time that an army chief appeared before a Senate committee. The last time an army chief came to parliament for a briefing was in 2011 after the US raid on Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad when then army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI director general Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha were called to the joint sitting of parliament.