New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan informed the federal cabinet that he had told Pakistan Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa that he wanted Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed to continue as Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general for some time due to the critical situation in neighbouring Afghanistan, Dawn reported.
Reports about lack of consensus between the civil and military leadership over the matter had been making rounds on social media for the last few days, but after it appeared on regular media on Tuesday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry was compelled to clarify the government’s point of view.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief whip in the National Assembly Amir Dogar said Prime Minister Khan and Gen Bajwa held a detailed meeting late Monday night on the matter.
The meeting was also confirmed by Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry during his presser after the cabinet meeting, stating that the issue of appointment of new ISI DG Lt. Gen. Nadeem Ahmed Anjum had been resolved and that the PM enjoyed the authority to appoint the chief of the country’s premier spy agency in accordance with law and Constitution.
Also sharing details of the meeting, Pak PM’s aide on political affairs Amir Dogar said the premier wanted Lt. Gen. Hameed to stay as DG ISI in view of the situation in Afghanistan, adding that Prime Minister Khan and Gen. Bajwa enjoyed relation of respect and dignity, the report said.
Khan was of the opinion that the government wanted to take all institutions on board, Dogar said. “The body language of the prime minister was quite positive and he seemed confident,” he added.
The PTI’s chief whip said the prime minister had told the cabinet that he was an elected prime minister and chief executive of the country.
“The prime minister has the authority to appoint the DG ISI and he held a detailed meeting with Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa in this regard,” Chaudhry told the press conference.
“The federal government will follow a legal and constitutional procedure on the appointment of the Inter-Services Intelligence director general,” he said.
The minister categorically stated there would be no step taken from the PM Office or the military setup that damaged the repute of one another, the report said.
Referring to rumours circulating about the matter, the minister said: “I see on social media, there are many who have wishes; I want to tell them that the Prime Minister’s Office will never undermine the respect of the Pakistan Army and army chief. And the COAS and the army will never take any step that will undermine the respect of Pakistan’s prime minister or civil setup.”
He stressed that both the prime minister and the military leadership were in close coordination, and the DG ISI would be appointed after fulfilling all legal requirements. “Both (PM Khan and Gen Bajwa) are in agreement over this and the prime minister has the authority over it,” he added
IANS