Highly injudicious to drag army into politics says Bizenjo. Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo slammed the statement of Chairman PTI Imran Khan regarding the appointment of the next army chief, saying it is very inappropriate to involve the military leadership in politics.
Taking to Twitter, the chief minister said that the Pakistan Army is the guarantor of the security and safety of this country.
پاک فوج اس ملک کے تحفظ اور سلامتی کی ضامن ہے۔فوج کی قیادت کو سیاست میں الجھانا اور پاک فوج کے سربراہ کی تقرری کے آئینی طور پر طے شدہ طریقہ کار کو متنازعہ بنانے کی کوشش کسی طور ملک کے مفاد میں نہیں۔سیاسی مقاصد کے حصول کے لیۓ ملکی سلامتی کو داؤ پر لگانے کی اجازت نہیں دی جاسکتی۔
— Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo (@AQuddusBizenjo) September 5, 2022
“The attempt to make controversial the constitutionally set procedure of the appointment of the Pakistan Army’s chief is not in the interest of the country,” said Bizenjo while releasing his statement on social media on September 5.
“We cannot allow the country’s security to be put at stake in pursuit of political objectives,” he added.
Imran Khan’s comments in Faisalabad rally
On September 4, the PTI chairman said the coalition government wanted to “appoint an army chief of their own choice” therefore it was stalling the elections.
The PTI chairman said that PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and former premier Nawaz Sharif “feared” a strong and patriotic army chief, who could hold them accountable for the looted money they had stashed abroad.
The former prime minister said a new army chief was going to be appointed in November this year. They [Zaradri and Nawaz] wanted to appoint a favourite [general] as the next army chief, he said.
Both have committed corruption worth billions, and they wanted to appoint an army chief who could protect them and their corruption, Imran Khan alleged.
The PTI chair alleged that PM Shehbaz, his brother Nawaz, and Zardari had been laundering public money. The two families had been looting the national exchequer for the last 30 years, he said.
Army flays Imran’s statement
The Pakistani Army expressed displeasure over Imran Khan’s statement against the military and said it was “aghast” over it.
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the army was “aghast” at the defamatory and uncalled-for statements about the military’s senior leadership made by the PTI chairman during a Faisalabad rally.
The military’s media wing said that regrettably, an attempt was made to discredit and undermine the senior leadership of the army at a time when the institution was laying lives for the “security and safety of the people every day”.
The army said that senior politicians trying to stir controversies over the appointment of the COAS, the procedure for which is well-defined in the Constitution, is “most unfortunate and disappointing”.