Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor Friday asserted that nobody will be allowed to put the peace and stability of the country at stake, adding that Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman should take his grievances to the institutions concerned.
The ISPR DG was responding to Fazlur Rehman’s two-day deadline he set out for ‘state institutions’ to stop supporting the ‘illegitimate government’ of Prime Minister Imran Khan at opposition’s Azadi March earlier in the day.
Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said the opposition can still approach relevant institutions over their grievances despite the passage of over a year since this government came into power. “But, hurling allegations and taking to streets will not solve problems,” he said, and asked Fazl to clarify which institution he was talking about in his Azadi March speech.
He said army is an impartial institution. “Pakistan Army is a national institution and supports all elected governments in accordance with the law and the constitution,” he said, while speaking to a private TV channel. “Pakistan Army only fulfilled its legal and constitutional responsibility during the elections,” he added.
The DG ISPR said any type of chaos in the country is not beneficial for anyone. He said political differences should be resolved in a democratic way. He said government and opposition committees are working through a better coordination, and hoped that things will move in the right direction in the coming days.
Maj Gen Ghafoor said Pakistan has gone through a very tough time during the last 20 years. He said the armed forces have rendered huge sacrifices to achieve peace in the country, adding that Operation Radd ul Fasaad is being carried out across country so that lasting peace can be established. The DG ISPR said that even at this time, there is tension across the Line of Control (LoC) with India. He reiterated that if India dared to carry out any misadventure, Pakistan will give a befitting reply.
