NewsDecember 29, 2017
Saad’s statement irresponsible, says ISPR
RAWALPINDI: Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Thursday the statement of Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique was 'irresponsible and unwarranted', which targeted the chain of command and the Pakistan Army's system.Responding to a question during a media briefing here, General Ghafoor said they had taken the statement 'with concern' and it should not have happened.
“The statement doesn’t appear to be unintended — it's very 'irresponsible and unwarranted' because you are targeting the chain of command and the subordination system of the Pakistan Army,” he said.
“The Pakistan Army is an organized and disciplined institution and the whole of Pakistan starts looking towards the direction where the Chief of the Army Staff hints at,” he added.
He said the Pakistan Army may not be the best army of the world if there was no such discipline in it.
“We have been giving sacrifices and our soldiers are embracing martyrdom. It is an institution which takes pride in its working mechanism,” he said.
General Ghafoor pointed out that there were institutions in the country which also enjoyed protection under the Constitution and such statements also tantamount to a violation of the Constitution.
“You are giving such a statement which violates the Constitution,” he said.
General Ghafoor pointed out that if the Pakistan Army was determined and confident to stay within the Constitution, then it was also the responsibility of every person and citizen to obey the Constitution. “If you touch this line, it will create some ripples,” he said.
The questioner had referred to a statement of Khawaja Saad Rafique in which he said the army chief had given a message for democracy but he should also see what his subordinates were doing.
Answering a question about Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav’s meeting with his family, he said there was no pressure from any side for the meeting. “Had there been any pressure, we would have not agreed to the consular access,” he said.
He said Kulbhushan was an established agent, who was working on Indian orders to create instability in Pakistan.
“He was given a chance to meet his family purely on humanitarian grounds. This should have been appreciated. But India will never do that,” he added.
About the Indian allegations that Kulbhushan’s family was harassed, he said the Foreign Office had informed New Delhi that the spy’s family would have to go through security checks.
He said in case of unilateral actions inside Pakistan, the armed forces would ensure the country’s defence.
“We want to tell our people that the armed forces have been working closely with Pakistan’s friends and want to continue work but we cannot compromise on our honour and respect,” he said while referring to the US threats of unilateral actions inside Pakistan.
He maintained that they did not want any controversies with friends but will ensure the country’s defence saying that in the wake of fake claims by India and threats of unilateral action, the nation needs to stay united.
General Asif Ghafoor said such challenges come but only a united nation could brave off such challenges.
“Your armed forces are alert on the borders and they need nothing but love and affection from your side,” he said.
Terming statements from the US and Afghanistan about inaction against the Haqqani group, he maintained that it was now time and turn for Afghanistan and the United States to do more rather than asking Pakistan.
“Now we will not do anymore for anyone and what we will do will be done only and only for the sake of Pakistan,” he said.
He maintained that they were confident that there was no organized infrastructure of any terrorist group in Pakistan.
He said unfounded statements about the presence of hideouts of terrorists in Pakistan were being heard and recently the United States had also used some threatening statements.
He told a questioner in response to a statement of President Trump that the United States and Pakistan had been friends and working closely and they should work like that but when it comes to security and defence of Pakistan, it would do what is best in its interest and it would be done together with the nation saying at the same time they did not want a confrontation with friends.
To a question about the statements of Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz in which they have been pointing the finger at an institution for cases, General Ghafoor said he did not want to respond because it was political and it was the domain of the people to decide what was correct.
“If there is any conspiracy, they should come up with evidence,” he said.
To a question, he said the two-star general did not act as guarantor in agreement with the organizers of the Faizabad sit-in rather the sensitive issue was resolved on the directives of the prime minister and the ISI also came under the premier.
As for the distribution of money to the sit-in participants, he asked the questioner if he thought that the sit-in people were worth Rs1,000. “If some money was given to a few, it was on human grounds,” he said.
He said whatever Pakistan received through the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) was reimbursement of what Pakistan had spent to support the coalition inside Afghanistan.
He pointed out that another allegation was inaction against the Haqqanis that might have been relevant to the period before Zarb-e-Azb.
“When we launched Zarb-e-Azb, we acted against all terrorists without discrimination including the Haqqani network,” he said, adding that the claim of inaction against the Haqqani network was no more valid.
He said if there were any facilitators inside Pakistan, it could only be addressed if 2.7 million Afghan refugees were sent back to their homeland, and for that purpose the United States and Afghanistan need to create pull factors.
General Asif Ghafoor pointed out that Pakistan was contributing in a big way towards peace in Afghanistan. “For this, we have started fencing 2,600 kilometer border and are constructing additional posts and forts every 1.5 kilometer. We have also raised additional wings of FC for capacity building to check cross-border movement. We have been contributing and cooperating for peace in Afghanistan and will continue to do so. No country other than Pakistan is more interested in the Afghan peace because we understand that peace in Afghanistan is essential for peace in Pakistan,” he said.
He said the US must check anti-Pakistan role of India not only from inside Afghanistan, but also through increasing ceasefire violations so that ‘we remain focused on our efforts for peace in Afghanistan and the region’.
Answering a question, he said the Pakistan Army was a professional army and a responsible state and could not be reactive to the self-defeating Indian claims about physical presence of Pakistan in Occupied Kashmir.
“While we continue and will continue diplomatic, moral and political support to Kashmiris struggle, you cannot lure us into unprofessional undertakings to reinforce your beaten narrative of our physical interference in Occupied Kashmir,” he said.
“I want to tell you through the media that the brave young Kashmiris are good enough for you whom you cannot suppress during the last 70 years, as the just struggle for right to self-determination has gone into their DNA,” he said.
General Ghafoor said India did not want Pakistan to succeed in the war against terrorism and that’s why it had increased ceasefire violations across the Line of Control (LoC) in 2017. He said 52 civilians were martyred, while 254 suffered injuries in 1,813 violations committed by India.
He said there was no truth in Indian claims that their soldiers entered Pakistan on December 25 and killed some soldiers.
To a question about the statement of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari about ex-president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s involvement in the killing of his mother, General Asif said he was spokesman for the Pakistan Army.
“You can ask him as what he wants to say. But as of now there are no rogue elements in the Pakistan Army,” he said.
Courtesy www.thenews.com.pk
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