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Saturday, November 09, 2013
PM to announce new army chief on 28thISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Senator Pervez Rasheed has said that the appointment of the new army chief is the right of the prime minister and he will make an announcement in this regard on November 28.
Talking to parliamentary reporters on Friday, the minister said the government does not want to disturb the authority of the current COAS in the prevailing circumstances. Pervez Rasheed added that the decision in this regard would be announced at the proper time. Talking about media, he said that his ministry would not dominate media, as criticism and opposition by media always helps to guide in the right direction. “Positive criticism and diversity of opinion is not only beauty of democracy but it helps government take difficult decisions,” the minister stated.
Rasheed assured the parliamentary reporters that the government would take all possible steps to combat problems being faced by them during coverage of parliament sessions. “LCD screen would be installed in the press lounge for coverage of Senate.” He said the government has appointed members for “Wage Awards” and taken practical steps to implement wage board awards. To a question, the minister said that former military dictator Pervez Musharraf’s name is on the Exit Control List (ECL) and he cannot run away from the country. Talking about civil-military relations, Rasheed said that all the institutions are fully aware of their responsibilities and are completely cooperating with the federal government in combating terrorism. “Institutions follow the decisions of the civilian government,” he added. Commenting about talks with Taliban, the information minister said that government is pursuing policy of “wait and see” in this regard and it will remain silent until authentic information is received from Taliban’s side. “Dialogue process would not be sabotaged by drone attacks, as the Pakistani government did not attack Taliban through drones,” Rasheed said, adding that Taliban had not put forward any condition regarding closure of drones before talks. online
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk