Ex-generals’ accountability: Irfan advises defence minister against ‘reopening old wounds’

ISLAMABAD: PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui, a close aide to party supremo Nawaz Sharif, has in his “personal capacity” opposed Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s recent remarks where he said he would move a resolution to summon former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa (retired) and ex-spymaster Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (retired) in the National Assembly.

Asif made his plan known earlier this week during an appearance on DawnNewsTV show Live with Adil Shahzeb. The defence minister was ruing terrorist attacks in Pakistan when he held Gen Bajwa, Gen Hameed and former prime minister Imran Khan responsible, alleging that it was during their tenure that thousands of fighters of the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan group were resettled in the country who were now launching attacks on the state.

He had also accused the two retired generals of conspiring to overturn the PML-N government in 2018, which he claimed was the reason why the country’s economy was in a poor financial state.

However, Siddiqui appeared to disagree with Asif’s approach on the matter, saying that summoning the two former generals would be akin to reopening “old offices”, especially at a time when the country was already beset with a number of pressing problems.

In an interview on DawnNewsTV show Doosra Rukh that aired on Friday, the senator said that the Parliament must move ahead and work on resolving the myriad of issues the country was currently entangled in.

“Parliament has a lot of work to do, such as ensuring constitutional, legal and electoral reforms,” Siddiqui said.

He added that probing Asif’s allegations would leave politicians, generals, journalists and other figures “stuck in a quagmire”, pointing out that the issue of accountability was as old as Pakistan itself and putting resources towards probing such allegations would not be prudent.

Senator Siddiqui also praised the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn the dismissal of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, saying he was glad that the former Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge’s dismissal was overturned.

Furthermore, the senator said that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif might travel abroad for a family gathering but had no intention of leaving Pakistan permanently.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024