PML-N terms attacks 'serious challenge for armed forces'

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has termed terrorists' May 22 attack on Pakistan Navel airbase in Karachi and May 02 US raid in Abbottabad as security lapse and a serious challenge for armed forces' chiefs, urging them to utilise intelligence agencies to deal with looming threats instead of indulging in political manoeuvring.
"The tragic incidents of Abbottabad and Mehran Base Karachi reflect weaknesses in country's defence system and pose a serious challenge to leadership of the armed forces", said Siddiqul Farooq, PML-N's spokesman while speaking at a news conference here on Monday, adding it is now inevitable that military leadership must give up indulging in country's politics and instead of placing the intelligence agencies to hunt politicians order them to devote all their energies to identify and eliminate enemies.
He said the military leadership would also have to make such a mechanism for the selection and training of cadets of the three services to block the entry of Pervez Musharraf like 'traitors' into the armed forces of the country.
The PML-N leader reiterated party's demand of formation of commission, urging Prime Minister to sit with leader of the opposition in National Assembly to ensure immediate formation of the commission in line with the resolution passed by the Parliament to investigate Abbottabad episode as well as the PNS Mehran tragedy so as to bring into light the weaknesses in defence system and expose the facts that gave a bad name to the country and its security agencies.
"If the Prime Minister and the leadership of the PPP failed in implementing the consensus resolution of the Parliament, it would be enough to believe that they were not sincere with the country's issues, especially of defence and were pursuing their personal agenda," he maintained. He also urged the government to expose the group or party, if any, that was providing logistic support and giving shelter to those coming from abroad to target Pakistan's defence system.
The PML-N leader said that his party has great love and regard for the armed forces and wants to increase their dignity, honour and capabilities to make them invincible, adding that it was PML-N that secured the armed forces from embarrassments that they suffered during 1971 and in Kargil operation.
Earlier in August 1999, he pointed out that India violated Pakistan's maritime limits and destroyed an unarmed Pakistan Navy Atlantic plane, adding that the incident brought into light serious and damaging role of spies of the enemy and linking the incident with negligence of intelligence agencies of their constitutional mandate, but busy in dethroning the then premier Nawaz Sharif on the directives of the then army chief of staff Pervez Musharraf.
Expressing sympathies with the families of martyrs of PNS Mehran tragedy, he also demanded of the government that no stone be left unturned to give exemplary punishment to the criminals behind the attack. To a question regarding former Law Minister Babar Awan's serious criticism on PML-N's chief, Farooq said that Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh on October 31, 2010, had presented a complete record in connection with "Qarz Utaro Mulk Sanawaro" scheme.
Referring to the criticism on party's leadership for Kargil episode, Farooq advised Awan to study the books Battler Ready, US National Security Advisor Bruce Readle's paper, former US president Bill Clinton's book "My Life" and Urdu Digest as well as statements of Pervez Musharraf and comments of defence analysts in Pakistani newspapers before October 12, 1999, adding that these reading would make it clear that Sharif had gone to SA to secure Pakistani army personnel across the line of control from the humiliation of becoming Indian prisoners.
He also tagged Babar Awan as 'fake doctor, saying he was fully aware of the facts that who was deputy prime minister and foreign minister in the cabinet of usurper Yahya Khan and who tore apart Poland Resolution at the UN Security Council which led to humiliation of Pakistan army.