Ahsan’s case worst civil-military face-off: PILDAT
The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) has stated that in one of the most blatant face-offs in civil-military relations in recent times, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, in full view of the nation, was denied access by the Rangers into the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) on the day of hearing of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s trial.
In its latest report, the PILDAT highlighted and analysed important activities in civil-military relations in October.
When the minister asked a soldier on duty at the gate to call the commander present inside, the commander did not show up, the report said adding that Iqbal openly and rightly claimed that legally the interior ministry is the administrative head of the Rangers.
According to the report, after completing an internal inquiry within the civilian administration, the minister made a statement on October 3 that the civil administration was not responsible for any communication that led to this misunderstanding.
The Rangers removed their forces from duty at the parliament, asking for a written order on Oct.4, the PILDAT said. It is not known what explanation was provided to the minister by the Punjab Rangers chief.
The report said that however a detailed press conference was held by teh Director General of the Interservices Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor on Oct.5, in which a simpliication of the events was given.
“We believe that the incident was serious and compromised the image of Pakistan. An inquiry should be conducted and people responsible for the mistake be disciplined,” the report added.
The report noted that addressing a seminar on economy and security, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa made comments on the economy. Later, on a TV channel, the ISPR chief also said that if the economy was not bad, it was not good either.
Ahsan Iqbal immediately issued a statement from asking ISPR not to comment on the economy. The minister was in the US at the time, holding meetings with the World Bank.
“On the army chief’s comments, we believe that it is inappropriate for any state institution to make public comments critical of any aspect of the policy or conduct of another state institution.