In a recent statement, ISPR said that officials of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and Pakistan Rangers Sindh, involved in the kidnapping of Sindh Inspector General Mushtaq Mahar have been removed pending further departmental proceedings for acting “overzealously…with the fall out of the desecration of Mazar-e-Quaid..”
Notably, last month, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had called on Gen. Bajwa and ISI Director General Faiz Hameed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the arrest of PML-N leader Capt (R) Mohammad Safdar in Karachi on October 19.
Besides some MNAs and MPS of PML-N itself, including several ministers of the ruling party PTI—especially Federal Information Minister Shibli Faraz—appreciated the report.
Ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif rejected the inquiry report, while Bilawal welcomed it saying: “This step will elevate the stature of the institutions.”
In one way or the other, PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz and its leader ex-President Shahid Khaqan Abbasi criticised the findings of the probe.
However, the report about the Karachi incident cannot be seen in isolation, as it is part of the leaders of the PML-N, including ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and some entities of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) who have targeted the Army and ISI in the recent past.
In this respect, serious reaction has been shown by the PTI, various political parties and the public in the aftermath of the remarks of the leader of PML-N-former speaker of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq, who allegedly said on October 28, this year that “the government had pleaded to parliamentary leaders in a meeting to let Indian pilot Abhinandan be freed.”
Reacting to Ayaz’s remarks, Director General of ISPR Maj-Gen. Babar Iftikhar said that such comments were “disappointing and misleading…India showed aggression against Pakistan on February 26, 2019, in which not only did it face defeat but was humiliated around the world…we shot down two enemy war planes…Wing Commander Abhinandan was captured…the country’s entire civil and military leadership was united in the decision”.
Earlier, addressing a PDM rally in Gujranwala via a video link from London, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accused army chief Gen. Bajwa and ISI chief Lt. Gen. Hameed rigged elections and toppled his government to install Imran Khan in his place.
Besides top officials of the government, on various occasions, Prime Minister Imran Khan stated that “Nawaz Sharif is a jackal who ran away to London…Sharif, who has been handed a seven-year jail term on corruption charges…is trying to sow discord in the military, the judiciary and the government in an attempt to escape accountability…These people are speaking the language of Narendra Modi…it was disappointing what Ayaz Sadiq was saying about Abhinandan.”
The PTI government released the Indian pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan as a gesture of peace.
In fact, Nawaz Sharif has been declared a proclaimed offender by the court, following his refusal to return to Pakistan to serve out his sentence. His brother Shehbaz Sharif and nephew Hamza Shehbaz are in NAB custody in connection with corruption references, while his political heir apparent, Maryam Nawaz, is out on bail and her London-based brothers have been proclaimed offenders.
Meanwhile, PML-N suffered massive setbacks with some of its leaders, including many MNAs and MPAs decided to quit the party, while others condemned the speeches of Nawaz Sharif and Ayaz Sadiq, while appreciating the sacrifices of the armed forces in fight against terrorism and for security of the country.
At this critical moment, Pakistan’s armed forces, particularly the Army, is facing multiple threats of a grave nature externally and internally, which are worrying all citizens.
Meanwhile, India’s fanatic rulers are also escalating tensions with Islamabad and have continued shelling inside the Pakistani side of Kashmir. Pak Army and Rangers have been boldly responding to India’s unprovoked firing across the Line of Control, and security agencies have been coping with a different war, as the enemy employs subversive activities of various kinds which include both internal and external crises.
In this context, Gen. Bajwa has repeatedly stated that Pakistan is facing the challenge of hybrid war. At this juncture, Pakistan is also facing multi-faceted problems, while the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic has been affecting the country in wake of a fragile economy.
In these adverse circumstances, instead of continuing the movement to topple the current elected regime, the leaders of the PDM and those of the PML-N and some other hostile entities must show solidarity with the armed forces in order to create selfless national harmony.
They should not behave in such a way which indicates that loyalty to their own parities is of primary importance and loyalty to the country is of a secondary nature.
Setting aside their differences which display hostility for the sake of hostility, the leaders of all these parties must play a major role collectively to protect the national interest of Pakistan in the wake of the conspiracy of foreign enemies who want to create unrest in the country by creating division between the armed forces and politicians.
Hence, the government, the opposition leaders, civil societies, media owners and all other segments of society must sign a charter of selfless national harmony which is essential to pull the country out of the ongoing crises, especially to meet India’s war-mongering designs.