Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Appointment of a new army chief or extension in the service of the incumbent army chief and the protest movement of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are the two most important items on the agenda of the meetings Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been holding in Murree for the last few days, sources told Daily Times on Sunday.

According to the sources, the prime minister is feeling good after his one-to-one meeting with Army Chief Raheel Sharif last week. A common friend played a role for harmony in the civil-military relations. Government sources said that now all was well between the prime minister and the army chief and results could be seen in the coming days. The prime minister praised the army for ensuring peace during the election for 41 seats of the Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The first proposal on the table of the prime minister is one-year extension in the service of Army Chief Raheel Sharif, but he wants the other side to ask for this extension. The other side however is not interested in asking for an extension in service; therefore, it is up to the government to decide this issue, sources said.

As far as the possible protest movement of the PTI and the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) against the federal government is concerned, there are many options under discussion and the prime minister is consulting his close aides on them, the sources said.

According to the sources, the government has been assured that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) would not be part of any anti-government movement. In case the PTI and PAT movement spirals out of control, the prime minister has been advised to go for an in-house change and install a harmless person as his predecessor. Later, the prime minister may run for the office of the president.

Sources said the prime minister had been warned against appointing Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif or Finance Minister Ishaq Dar as his successor because their appointment could cause problems for Sharif and he could lose his control over the party.