Tag: Chief of Army Staff

  • Arif Alvi, establishment strike deal?

    Arif Alvi, establishment strike deal?

    Senior analyst Muzamil Suharwardy has alleged that President Arif Alvi will announce the election date very soon as part of a deal he has striken with the establishment.

    During a programme on Naya Daur TV, the analyst said that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum met with President Alvi to finalize a deal between both parties. President Alvi will not voice any objections regarding the Official Secret Act and Army Act, Suharwardy narrated.

    The analyst also said that the President asked the establishment to provide a smooth path so that he could face the public with dignity. Not objecting to the Official Secret Act and Army Act will be part of the agreement.

    According to Suharwardy, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will file a plea stating that the president has no right to announce the election date. The matter will then shift to the Supreme Court (SC), where the upcoming chief justice, Qazi Faez Esa has already said that no such case can be heard until the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Bill case is finalized.

    Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial will consequently face criticism from both the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

    “A fixed match will be played between President Alvi and the establishment,” Suharwardy said.

  • ‘Siyaasatdaan khud masaail hal karein’:COAS ‘rejected’ Khan’s request for meeting

    Despite Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders continuous claim that thier Chairperson Imran Khan is not seeking a meeting with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, anchorperson Shahzeb Khanzada reported that the former prime minister had indeed sent a message to the army chief.

    Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath’, the host said that General Asim, in a meeting with the top 10 businessmen of the country, said that PTI chief Imran Khan sent him a message seeking a meeting.

    Khanzada further said that Gen Asim replied that it was not his job as army chief to meet politicians.

    “General Asim asserted that the army would neither interfere in politics nor would play any role in it,” said Khanzada. The army chief maintained that he would not interfere in political matters and the political leadership itself should resolve its issues.

    Speaking in the programme, senior anchorperson Hamid Mir said President Arif Alvi had tried to arrange a meeting between Gen Asim and Imran Khan.

    The army chief told the president that he wants to stay away from politics, Mir added.

  • President Alvi to discuss ‘game of audio and videos leaks’ with COAS Munir

    President Alvi to discuss ‘game of audio and videos leaks’ with COAS Munir

    President Dr Arif Alvi has said that he had made it a point to discuss the “game of audio and videos leaks” with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir.

    “I am surprised why this is going on. It should not continue in any sense of morality,” said Dr Alvi during a wide-ranging conversation with journalists, leaders of business community and foreign diplomats at a dinner on Saturday.

    Alvi revealed that former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and his team helped Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the Senate and during the elections as well.

    The president that Khan had no thought of sacking Gen (retd) Bajwa, stating, “No, I don’t think so. That was a rumour.”

    The president said that we should let go of the past and forgive people for the mistakes they had committed earlier, so a new beginning could take place.

    “Let’s make a country that we deserve,” the President said. He rued that institutions had not played their role, even the judiciary, pointing out that the courts had given verdicts allowing a dictator to change the constitution. He referred to the Reko Diq case in which Pakistan had to pay a fine of $7 billion.

    “If you criticise the judiciary, it will reduce the efficacy of the entire judiciary. If you criticise the army, it becomes a matter of disrepute and we don’t want that,” the president said. He, however, added that this principle was often stretched and applied to every situation, due to which one could not say anything against them.

    Discussing Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s response to India, Dr Alvi remarked that the minister had done the right thing. He said the world and the global order was based on vested interests. “A good reply was given by Bilawal sahib,” he stated.

  • Bye bye Bajwa: PM gets names of next army chief nomination, decision awaited

    Bye bye Bajwa: PM gets names of next army chief nomination, decision awaited

    The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has confirmed on Wednesday that it has finally received the summary from the Ministry of Defence with a list of names of the candidates for the appointment of the new chief of army staff (COAS) and the chairman joint chief of staff committee (CJCSC).

    “Prime Minister [Shehbaz Sharif] will take a decision on the appointments as per the laid down procedure,” the brief statement read.

    Military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a statement confirming the development late last night.

    “GHQ has forwarded the summary for selection of CJCSC and COAS, containing names of 6 senior most Lt Gens, to MoD,” said the ISPR in its tweet.

    It is believed that the six men currently in the running to be the next chief of army staff are (in order of seniority) Lt Gen Asim Munir (currently Quarter Master General), Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza (Commander 10 Corps), Lt Gen Azhar Abbas (Chief of General Staff), Lt Gen Nauman Mehmood (NDU Presi­dent), Lt Gen Faiz Hamid (Commander Baha­walpur Corps), and Lt Gen Mohammad Aamer (Com­mander Gujranwala Corps).

    Khawaja Asif, Minister for Defence, said Monday that the notification for the appointment of the next chief of army staff (COAS) would be issued by November 26 before the end of the tenure of the outgoing chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa – who retires on November 29.

    The summary itself and the delay in its dispatch from GHQ has been the subject of much speculation as General Bajwa’s retirement date looms near.

  • Ishaq Dar takes notice of ‘illegal, unwarranted’ leak of Gen Bajwa’s family’s tax records

    Ishaq Dar takes notice of ‘illegal, unwarranted’ leak of Gen Bajwa’s family’s tax records

    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday took notice of the “illegal and unwarranted” leakage of tax information of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s family members.

    An official statement from the Finance Division states, “This is clearly a violation of the complete confidentiality of tax information that the law provides.”

    This statement comes a day after a report by investigative news website FactFocus, which cited alleged tax returns and wealth statements, claimed that the COAS’ family had amassed billions of rupees in the last six years.

    “In view of this serious lapse on the part of to-date unknown functionaries, the finance minister has directed the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Revenue, Tariq Mehmood Pasha, to personally lead an immediate investigation into the violation of tax law[s] and breach of Federal Board of Revnue (FBR) data, affix responsibility and submit a report within 24 hours,” the handout said.

    According to the FactFocus report, the current market value of the known assets and businesses of the army chief, both within and outside Pakistan, amounted to Rs12.7 billion.

    The report also shared the alleged wealth statements of Gen Bajwa and his family from 2013 to 2021.

    According to the publication, it was unable to obtain data about assets in the name of Gen Bajwa’s two sons.

    FactFocus has claimed that after the publication of the story, the traffic on its site was “disrupted” and the website had been “banned”.

  • ‘Shameful,’ Imran slams Azam Swati’s torture

    ‘Shameful,’ Imran slams Azam Swati’s torture

    Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, reacting to party Senator Azam Swati’s arrest has said, “The custodial torture of Azam Swati over a tweet regarding NRO-2 is another shameful incident in our history.”

    “Can people be forced to respect an individual or institution through bullying and violence,” he asked in his tweet.

    “All those who not only escaped from accountability but allowed biggest criminals to come to power once again after defrauding the national treasury of billions, disgrace has been written in their destiny,” he declared.

    PTI Senator Azam Swati was arrested in the early hours of Thursday morning for tweeting against Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    Speaking to reporters outside a sessions court later in the day, Swati said that he was arrested for “taking one name — of Bajwa — and that is the violation”.

    Swati tweeted, “Mr Bajwa congratulations to you and few with you. Your plan is really working and all criminals are getting free at cost of this country. With these thugs getting free, you have legitimised corruption. How you predict now the future of this country (sic).”

  • PTI Senator Azam Swati arrested for tweeting against Gen Bajwa

    PTI Senator Azam Swati arrested for tweeting against Gen Bajwa

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Azam Swati was arrested in the early hours of Thursday morning for tweeting against Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    Swati tweeted, “Mr Bajwa congratulations to you and few with you. Your plan is really working and all criminals are getting free at cost of this country. With these thugs getting free, you have legitimised corruption. How you predict now the future of this country (sic).”

    Speaking to reporters outside a sessions court later in the day, Swati said that he was arrested for “taking one name — of Bajwa — and that is the violation”.

    When asked who arrested him, he said it was the FIA. When pressed about the case, he alleged he was tortured by “agencies”. “A parliamentarian has been unclothed,” he said. “I am telling the nation.”

    Swati’s tweet came after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz were acquitted in a high-profile money laundering case yesterday.

    The first information report registered at the FIA’s Cyber Crime Reporting Centre in Islamabad, mentions that Swati tweeted with “Malafide intentions & ulterior motives” against “State Institutes of The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and its Senior Government Functionaries including Chief of The Army Staff of Pakistan Army”, reports Dawn.

    The FIR adds that such “Intimidating tweet/s of blaming and naming through Twitter account i.e., @AzamKhanSwatiPK, is a mischievous act of subversion to create a rift between personnel/s of The Armed Forces and an attempt to harm the State of Pakistan”.

    Through the aforementioned tweet, the criminal complaint says, the accused “undermined the Judicial System of the country and also attempted to seduce Army Personnel/s from their allegiance to their duties as subordinates.

    “This is calculated attempt to create hatred in the mind of people and Army Personnel/s against COAS and Pakistan Army and also created distrust towards Judicial System. In such intimidating Tweet/s, the accused Muhammad Azam Khan Swati has attempted to provoke general public and Personnel/s of Armed Forces by trying to create a feeling of ill-will among pillars of the State,” it said.

    It alleges Swati violated privacy and intimidated state institutions, by using false information, “Which is likely to incite, any officer, soldier, sailor, or Airman in the Army, Navy or Air Force of Pakistan to mutiny or otherwise disregard or fail in his duty as such and is also likely to cause fear or alarm in the public and may induce / incite anyone to commit an offence against the State or the State Institution/s or public tranquillity”.

  • Gen Bajwa says he will retire in November

    Gen Bajwa says he will retire in November

    Putting months of speculation to rest, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has reiterated his promise to leave office after completing his second three-year term in November, adding that he would fulfil the pledge he made earlier.

    The army chief made these remarks at a lunch at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington.

    The COAS also stated that the armed forces have distanced themselves from politics and want to stay out of it in the future as well.

    “There can be no diplomacy without a strong economy,” said the army chief stressing that restoration of the ailing economy of the country should be the priority of every stakeholder of the society.

    After the lunch, Gen Bajwa went to the Pentagon for a meeting with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.

    According to the ISPR, Gen Bajwa called on retired General Lloyd James Austin III, Secretary of Defence; Jacob Jeremiah Sullivan, National Security Adviser; and Wendy Ruth Sherman, Deputy Secretary of State.

    The army chief arrived in the US on September 30 and met with UN officials in New York.

    General Bajwa is heading a delegation that will stay in the US for another couple of days, diplomatic sources said, terming the visit an important one that portrayed “robust relations” between the two countries.

  • ‘Enough is enough’: Khan to reply to ‘PDM crooks’ at 5pm today

    ‘Enough is enough’: Khan to reply to ‘PDM crooks’ at 5pm today

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said that he has had enough of the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) “cabal of crooks” who are trying to launch propaganda against him.

    Khan on September 4, alleged that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif and Zardari wanted to appoint their favourite as Chief of Army Staff (COAS) because if a “strong and patriotic army chief” was appointed, they would be questioned about their corruption.

    In a tweet, the PTI chairman said, “Am following intense propaganda launched by PDM cabal of crooks against me.This stems from their being petrified of PTI’s soaring popularity.”

    “Today in Peshawar jalsa I will give proper reply to all those who have deliberately been distorting my words to malign me. Enough is enough,” said Khan.

    Pakistani Army on Monday, August 5, expressed extreme displeasure over Khan’s recent statement against the establishment and said that the institution was “aghast” over it.

    Read more: ‘Disappointing’, Pak Army says Khan should not ‘scandalise’ Army Chief selection

    “Pakistan Army is aghast at the defamatory and uncalled for statement about the senior leadership of Pakistan Army by Chairman PTI during a political rally at Faisalabad. Regrettably, an attempt has been made to discredit and undermine senior leadership of Pakistan Army at a time when the institution is laying lives for the security and safety of the people of Pakistan every day,” said the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

  • Justice Minallah questions whether Khan will put everything at stake for ‘game of thrones’

    Justice Minallah questions whether Khan will put everything at stake for ‘game of thrones’

    Irked by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s recent remarks about the appointment of a new Chief of Army Staff (COAS), the Chief Justice (CJ) of Islamabad High Court (IHC) Athar Minallah minced no words.

    “Did you hear Imran Khan’s speech from yesterday,” the Chief Justice asked the former prime minister’s lawyer on Monday. “Do political leaders deliver such speeches? Will everything be put at stake just for the sake of “game of thrones’?” The honourable judge asked during the hearing of a petition filed by the PTI against a ban imposed by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on the live telecast of the speeches of Khan.

    Khan on Sunday said that the government is buying time to “appoint an army chief of their own choice.” He alleged that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari wanted to appoint their favourite as COAS because if a “strong and patriotic army chief” came, they would be questioned about their corruption.

    Read more: ‘Hamari fauj taggri hai’: Shehbaz, Zardari, Shujaat react to Khan’s anti-military remarks

    At today’s hearing, PEMRA’s lawyer informed the court that the regulator issued a show-cause notice to delay the airing of Khan’s live speeches. In response, the IHC CJ asked why the regulator did not ensure that the rule of delaying live speeches was followed.

    The media watchdog’s lawyer said that PEMRA’s orders were not aimed at a particular person.

    The court, addressing PTI’s lawyer, Barrister Ali Zafar, remarked “Let’s not make things difficult as your client also made irresponsible statements.”

    Justice Minallah said that the armed forces personnel were getting martyred “and you [Imran] are bringing their morale down”.

    He also asked the PTI counsel as to why [his party] was harming constitutional institutions. “You will only invite difficulties as a result of your statements,” he observed.

    IHC CJ Minallah said that the armed forces lay their lives for the nation and in case someone is involved in illegal activity, everyone should not be criticised over it.

    “Hold yourself accountable for your actions. You [Khan] want to issue statements as per your wishes and don’t want the regulator to do its job,” the CJ said.

    Meanwhile, the IHC ordered PEMRA to regulate in light of Supreme Court of Pakistan’s verdict and wrapped up Imran Khan’s application.

    On August 29 IHC suspended PEMRA’s recent notification that banned television channels from airing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s live speeches.

    Read more: IK back on live TV: High Court suspends ban on IK’s speeches

    IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah suspended the notification till September 5 after hearing the arguments and issued notices to the regulatory authority and Attorney-General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali.