SOURCE: TNN
Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif lashed out again at the country’s army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed on Sunday, accusing them of “interfering in politics for several years with impunity in violation of their oath”.
Sharif was addressing a public meeting of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance comprising 11 opposition parties with the sole purpose of ousting PM Imran Khan from office, in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, via video link from London.
As the public meeting began, Quetta witnessed a blast that killed three people and injured seven others in Hazarganji area a few kilometres away from the rally site. Police said an IED was planted in a motorcycle. But PDM leaders went ahead with the rally.
Sharif said PDM has risen against “unconstitutional power (military establishment) that have made Pakistan hollow from inside”.
“Our struggle is not against the ‘incompetent and selected’ person (Imran Khan) but against the ones who brought him into power. They (military establishment) made him a prime minister to provide cover to their unconstitutional political activities. You (Imran Khan) are irrelevant for us, you are immature in politics, our competition is not with you,” Sharif said.
He said that he names individuals “because I don’t want the army to be defamed for the acts of some generals, who have tarnished the image of their institution”. He called upon the army and the ISI chief to “account” for the country’s current situation.
“Gen Bajwa, you will have to answer for record rigging in the 2018 elections, for horse-trading in the parliament, for making Imran Niazi prime minister against people’s wishes and by tearing apart the Constitution and laws, for pushing people towards poverty and hunger,” the former Pakistan PM said.
He also spoke about the arrest of his son-in-law, Captain Mohammad Safdar (retired) in Karachi last week, saying that it was “shameful” how police officials barged into the room and violated the privacy of his daughter Maryam Nawaz and her husband.
“Such things prove my point that there is a state above the state,” he said.
“On whose order is the privacy of people violated? On whose orders are doors broken down. If even the province’s chief minister doesn’t know, then who is behind it?” he asked.
Sharif concluded his speech by giving three messages. “I want to give three messages today. First, for the soldiers and officers of our army: you have taken an oath to protect the country, but also to safeguard the Constitution of the country,” he said, urging them to honour their oath.
The second message was for the civil services. “The world is changing and it is becoming difficult to get away with wrong doings. You saw how Sindh police officers stood for themselves … and earned respect. You should not come under pressure,” he warned.
Nawaz’s third message was for the people. “The Pakistan Army is your army, give them love and respect. But when it comes to supremacy of the Constitution, protest and freedom of speech is your right. No one can take it away from you. It’s your right to vote and elect your government.”
Sharif’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz, told the crowd that Mohammad Ali Jinnah, in one of his speeches at Staff College, Quetta, had stated that policymaking was the job of civilians and had instructed serving officers of the state to abide by their oaths.
“Tell me, has his instruction been followed?” she said. “The reason you are deprived of food and shelter is that your vote is not respected. Those who rule you are not answerable to you but to someone else (military), someone else pulls their strings,” she said.
She also demanded China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chairman retired Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa to step down from his position, citing allegations against him and his family of possessing offshore properties and businesses.
from Indian Defence Research Wing https://ift.tt/2G2KgLQ
via IFTTThttp://idrw.org
No comments:
Post a Comment