By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday said the top general in the military has always been appointed on merit, “barring one or two exceptions.”
Minister Asif lashed out at former prime minister Imran Khan for his remarks about the appointment of the army chief, saying the opposition leader should tell exactly when it was not done on merit.
“The army chief has always been appointed on merit. Imran Khan should tell exactly when the army chief was not appointed on merit,” Asif said at a news briefing flanked by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.
Earlier this week, the ousted prime minister Khan accused the country’s coalition government of delaying fresh elections to appoint ‘a new army chief of their own choice’ to protect their alleged corrupt practices.
“A new army chief was going to be appointed in November this year, and they [Zaradri and Sharif] jointly wanted to appoint a favorite [general] as the next army chief,” Khan made his remarks at a rally of his Tehreek-e-Insaf party in Faisalabad.
“They fear that if a strong, patriotic army chief is appointed, he will question them about their stolen wealth,” Khan said. “Whoever is on the top of the merit list should be appointed to lead the army.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is poised to pick the new army chief ahead of the retirement of the incumbent General Qamar Javed Bajwa by the end of November.
The military expressed displeasure over Khan’s statement, saying the institution was ‘aghast’ at his remarks about the top army leadership.
“This is done as part of a well-considered strategy that first you attack and make institutions controversial and see the reaction and then say I talked about merit,” Asif said.
The minister said the military leadership nominates four to five most senior officers from whom the prime minister appoints the next army chief after due deliberation.
“Today, when Imran Khan is no longer in power, he is attacking the entire leadership of the army and deliberately creating doubts about the forthcoming military leadership.”
The appointment of the new army chief has been in the headlines due to tension between the ruling coalition and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf of Imran Khan, as both sides are skeptical about each other.
“I think this debate should be over. This debate has never happened in the past on this appointment, the sanctity of the military forces and their processes should not be made controversial.”
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said at the presser that electricity rates and inflation would start declining after a month.
“Electricity tariffs will decline in October, and so will the FCAs (fuel cost adjustment) and quarterly tariff adjustments (QTAs)… this hardship will have to be borne for another month,” Ismail said.
The finance minister said the country’s textile sector had demanded the lifting of a ban on the import of cotton from India, but the government has so far not taken any decision on the issue.
“APTMA “All Pakistan Textile Mills Association) is asking the federal government to allow the import of cotton from India but we have not taken any decision yet,” he said.
Ismail earlier hinted that the government is considering importing mostly vegetables from India to mitigate cataclysmic floods fallout as food prices have risen sharply
Later the government allowed imports from Iran and Afghanistan and kept a ban on trade from arch-rival India.
Large swathes of crops have been destroyed or extensively damaged by deadly floods across Pakistan, leading to further challenges to food security in the impoverished nation of over 220 million. Rains and deadly floods have damaged rice and cotton crops, along with vegetables like onions and tomatoes. Sowing next year’s wheat crop, which starts in October, will be another challenge in Sindh and Baluchistan.
Minister Ismail said the government is in contact with the International Monetary Fund and a disaster assessment is currently underway in consultation with the World Bank and other organisations on flood-related losses.
“We are not seeking emergency financial support from the International Monetary Fund to cope with flood-related destruction as of now … but we have discussed the latest macroeconomic indicators, including flood-related losses with the IMF.”
‘All past military appointments on merit, barring one or two exceptions
By Staff Reporter
Islamabad: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday said the top general in the military has always been appointed on merit, “barring one or two exceptions.”
Minister Asif lashed out at former prime minister Imran Khan for his remarks about the appointment of the army chief, saying the opposition leader should tell exactly when it was not done on merit.
“The army chief has always been appointed on merit. Imran Khan should tell exactly when the army chief was not appointed on merit,” Asif said at a news briefing flanked by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.
Earlier this week, the ousted prime minister Khan accused the country’s coalition government of delaying fresh elections to appoint ‘a new army chief of their own choice’ to protect their alleged corrupt practices.
“A new army chief was going to be appointed in November this year, and they [Zaradri and Sharif] jointly wanted to appoint a favorite [general] as the next army chief,” Khan made his remarks at a rally of his Tehreek-e-Insaf party in Faisalabad.
“They fear that if a strong, patriotic army chief is appointed, he will question them about their stolen wealth,” Khan said. “Whoever is on the top of the merit list should be appointed to lead the army.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is poised to pick the new army chief ahead of the retirement of the incumbent General Qamar Javed Bajwa by the end of November.
The military expressed displeasure over Khan’s statement, saying the institution was ‘aghast’ at his remarks about the top army leadership.
“This is done as part of a well-considered strategy that first you attack and make institutions controversial and see the reaction and then say I talked about merit,” Asif said.
The minister said the military leadership nominates four to five most senior officers from whom the prime minister appoints the next army chief after due deliberation.
“Today, when Imran Khan is no longer in power, he is attacking the entire leadership of the army and deliberately creating doubts about the forthcoming military leadership.”
The appointment of the new army chief has been in the headlines due to tension between the ruling coalition and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf of Imran Khan, as both sides are skeptical about each other.
“I think this debate should be over. This debate has never happened in the past on this appointment, the sanctity of the military forces and their processes should not be made controversial.”
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said at the presser that electricity rates and inflation would start declining after a month.
“Electricity tariffs will decline in October, and so will the FCAs (fuel cost adjustment) and quarterly tariff adjustments (QTAs)… this hardship will have to be borne for another month,” Ismail said.
The finance minister said the country’s textile sector had demanded the lifting of a ban on the import of cotton from India, but the government has so far not taken any decision on the issue.
“APTMA “All Pakistan Textile Mills Association) is asking the federal government to allow the import of cotton from India but we have not taken any decision yet,” he said.
Ismail earlier hinted that the government is considering importing mostly vegetables from India to mitigate cataclysmic floods fallout as food prices have risen sharply
Later the government allowed imports from Iran and Afghanistan and kept a ban on trade from arch-rival India.
Large swathes of crops have been destroyed or extensively damaged by deadly floods across Pakistan, leading to further challenges to food security in the impoverished nation of over 220 million. Rains and deadly floods have damaged rice and cotton crops, along with vegetables like onions and tomatoes. Sowing next year’s wheat crop, which starts in October, will be another challenge in Sindh and Baluchistan.
Minister Ismail said the government is in contact with the International Monetary Fund and a disaster assessment is currently underway in consultation with the World Bank and other organisations on flood-related losses.
“We are not seeking emergency financial support from the International Monetary Fund to cope with flood-related destruction as of now … but we have discussed the latest macroeconomic indicators, including flood-related losses with the IMF.”
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