Tag: COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa

  • ISI, Rangers officials removed over Sindh IG incident that PM Imran termed ‘comedy’

    Officials of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Sindh Rangers involved in the “Karachi incident” that was termed by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan as a “comedy”, have been removed pending further departmental proceedings for acting “overzealously”.

    “I believe it is a comedy. When I think about that, I laugh. What is happening? It is unfortunate that all the enemies of Pakistan, including India and Israel, are with them,” the premier had said while referring to the incident wherein Sindh Inspector General (IG) Mushtaq Mahar had allegedly been coerced to issue arrest warrants against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Capt (r) Safdar.

    The humiliating treatment meted out to the top cop, however, had led to senior officials asking the government for 60 days leave, and chairperson of Sindh’s ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) demanding Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa to hold an inquiry into the incident. The army chief had subsequently ordered Karachi corps commander to conduct an immediate probe into the incident.

    In a statement on Tuesday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the court of inquiry constituted to redress the grievances of the Sindh IG, on the orders of COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, had been completed.

    “The court of inquiry has established that on the night of Oct 18/Oct 19, officers from Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) and ISI sector Headquarters Karachi were considerably seized with the fall out of the desecration of Mazare Quaid [Jinnah’s mausoleum],” read a statement issued by the military’s media wing.

    “They were under increasing public pressure to ensure prompt action as per the law. Assessing the response of police authorities against this developing yet volatile situation to be slow and wanting, in a charged environment, the concerned officers decided to act, rather overzealously,” the ISPR statement said.

    “They were indeed experienced enough to have acted more prudently and could have avoided creating an unwarranted situation that led to the misunderstanding between the two state institutions.

    “Based on the recommendations of the court of inquiry, it has been decided to remove the concerned officers from their current assignments for further departmental proceedings and disposal at GHQ,” the statement added.

    ‘KARACHI INCIDENT’:

    Last month, the ISPR had said the army chief had taken notice of and ordered an immediate inquiry into the “Karachi incident”, Dawn reported.

    At the time, the ISPR did not specify which incident it was referring to. However, the statement came minutes after PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari called on Gen Bajwa and ISI Director General (DG) Faiz Hameed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the arrest of the PML-N leader, who was in Karachi for an anti-government rally of the joint opposition.

    On October 19, Safdar, who was staying at a hotel with his wife, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, was arrested for “violating the sanctity of Jinnah’s mausoleum” by raising political slogans at the venue, surrounded by hundreds of party workers.

    Following Safdar’s arrest, a purported voice message by PML-N leader and former Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair was shared by a journalist in which Zubair alleged that the IG was kidnapped and forced to register the FIR [First Information Report] against Maryam, her husband Safdar and 200 others for violating the sanctity of the tomb.

    In the audio clip circulating on Twitter, Zubair said that Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah confirmed to him that police were pressured into making the arrest. “When they [police] refused to do that, Rangers kidnapped [the IGP],” Zubair had said.

    Maryam had also alleged that the Sindh police chief was forcibly “taken to the sector commander’s office and asked to sign on the arrest orders”.

    The statement by the military’s media wing comes days after PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif said that the inquiry into the “alleged abduction” of the Sindh IG and additional IG, and the “storming of Maryam’s room” had not been made public despite Gen Bajwa’s “personal assurance”.

    “Despite Gen Bajwa’s personal assurance, result of inquiry into abduction of IG/AIG Sindh & storming of Maryam Nawaz’s room hasn’t been made public. Does this nation have the right to know the reasons for delay?,” he tweeted.

  • VIDEO: PM mocks Khawaja Asif; claims he called Gen Bajwa crying, seeking help to win election

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has mocked Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart Khawaja Asif, claiming that the latter called Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on election night in 2018, crying while fearing defeat, and seeking his help to win from the NA-73 constituency of Sialkot.

    “There’s a prominent rangbaaz [charlatan] from Sialkot who thinks highly of himself… makes tall claims… but it was revealed that on election night he called Gen Bajwa at 8 pm, weeping and seeking his help to win the election,” the premier said during an animated address to a Tiger Force convention in Islamabad.

    Calling him “Rangbaaz Khawaja”, PM Imran quoted Asif as appealing to the army chief that he would be destroyed if Gen Bajwa didn’t help him win the election against Usman Dar of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    WATCH VIDEO:

    In the 2018 general election, Asif had secured 116,957 votes while Dar had received 115,464 votes from the NA-73 constituency.

    However, Dar had requested a re-count in the constituency following the result but Asif had retained his seat.

    The vote recount was completed in NA-73 with Asif receiving 45 more votes than before. The vote count of PTI’s Muhammad Dar, who had requested the re-tally in the constituency, increased by 132 but he still remained behind the PML-N leader. 

    Dar, who is the current special adviser to the PM on youth affairs, had later also challenged Asif’s victory, but to no avail.

  • VIDEO: ‘I don’t eat gulab jamun but couldn’t say no to army chief,’ says Zubair about ‘secret meeting’

    VIDEO: ‘I don’t eat gulab jamun but couldn’t say no to army chief,’ says Zubair about ‘secret meeting’

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader and former Sindh governor, Muhammad Zubair, who has been appointed as party supreme leader Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz’s spokesperson, has revealed further details of his “secret meeting” with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and shared what dinner with the military bigwig was like.

    In an exclusive interview with The Current, Zubair said that he isn’t a big fan of gulab jamun but that’s what they had for dessert the night he met Gen Bajwa over dinner.

    “I’m not a gulab jamun person but I couldn’t say no to him [Gen Bajwa] since he is a dignitary… he is the COAS,” the former Sindh governor said when asked about the details of his meeting that was also reportedly attended by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General (DG) Lt Gen Faiz Hameed.

    He said that the first meeting lasted for four hours whereas the second one lasted for three.

    Talking about the kind of food he was served, Zubair said it was Pakistani cuisine. “He knew I’m one for desi food. I think he got it arranged while keeping that in mind,” the PML-N leader said.

    To a question about what did Gen Bajwa have, Zubair said he didn’t remember.

    When asked if Maryam, who, along with her father, has over the past month been making headlines for criticising the military and accusing the security establishment of meddling in political affairs, was upset with him for meeting the army chief, Zubair said she trusts him.

    “She has faith in my decision-making and knows I will always do the right thing for the party.”

    During the wide-ranging interview, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Umar’s brother, among other things, also shared how emotional politics can get when someone from your family belongs to a rival party, and shared his views on the current situation of the economy, as well as what he thinks of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE:

  • Deal on cards? What you need to know about meetings between army chief and PML-N

    Deal on cards? What you need to know about meetings between army chief and PML-N

    Statements by Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Wednesday, who claimed Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Asif and Shahbaz Sharif had held meetings with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Bajwa and head of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, upset many opposition leaders and prompted the military high-ups to step forward to counter his claims.

    Shortly after the All Party Conference (APC) and the directions by Islamabad High Court (IHC) for the government to produce Nawaz Sharif, the railways minister predicted an implosion of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), claiming that the process has already started.

    He disclosed that some senior politicians of the party had held two meetings with the military leadership. Speaking indirectly, Rasheed seemed to predict a coup or a split. wherein PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif would take over the party.

    Rasheed alleged that the arrest warrants and Nawaz Sharif’s anti-establishment statements have caused troubles for the party, a sentiment supposedly held by many members of the PML-N. He predicted that a Shehbaz-led faction will soon arise.

    The minister added that PML-N’s senior politicians held two meetings with the military leadership, with the first meeting lasting for five hours. and the second for three. “In one meeting, Khawaja Asif and former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal held an hours long meeting with military leadership while in other meeting Shehbaz Sharif and I sat on same table and ate dinner,” he said.

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari at a press conference in Karachi said that those conversations are meant to be confidential, and that certain people need to refrain from revealing their details.

    “Whenever there s a national security issue, whether it concerns India, AJK [Azad Jammu and Kashmir], GB [Gilgit-Baltistan], FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Areas], extremism and terrorism, we were, are today and will be together on these in the future,” he said, adding that the PPP and other political parties were approached on September 18 or 19 and invited to a national security briefing on GB.

    Bilawal commented that these meeting are officially ‘off-the-record’, and said that he had no choice but to talk about the it “out of helplessness”.

    “Some irresponsible persons [Rasheed] who have nothing to do with national security, GB, AJK or foreign policy, and who did not say a word in this meeting, are giving statements on every TV channel these days,” he said.

    “I think such actions make national security and foreign policy issues controversial. And whoever’s spokesperson this [person] is, they should immediately ask them to shut up and not say anything irresponsible,” Bilawal said. “You can never be able to create consensus on any issue if such things happen,” he added.

    PML-N Ahsan Iqbal denied reports of any one-on-one meeting with army leadership and said that Rasheed was lying about the meeting.

    On the other hand, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz denied reports of a meeting between Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and representative of former premier Nawaz. She was at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for a hearing of an appeal against her conviction in the Avenfield House reference. When asked about the meeting, she said, “I do not know about dinner, maybe it was not a dinner [but] I heard about the meeting.”

    She further said political decisions should be made in the parliament and not at the General Headquarters (GHQ).

    “From what I understand it was called to discuss Gilgit-Baltistan which is a political issue, an issue of the people’s representatives, for them to solve and deliberate upon,” she said.

    Maryam said that political issues should be discussed in the parliament and political leadership should be allowed to resolve problems of political nature.

    Later, replying to Maryam’s statement, the railways minister remarked, “The day Maryam Safdar starts speaking the truth will be the end of her political career”.

    https://twitter.com/aikminutepk/status/1308801737504030720

    ARMY BREAKS SILENCE:

    The Pakistan Army finally broke its silence over the controversial statements made about the alleged meetings of political leadership with the military leadership, confirming that the opposition leaders had met with the military top brass twice in past few months.

    Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Major-General Babar Iftikhar told a private television channel that former Sindh governor and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Mohammad Zubair had met with the army chief not once but twice in past some weeks.

    “One meeting was held in the last week of August and the second meeting was held on September 7. ISI DG was also present in both meetings. Both the meetings were held on request made by Mohammad Zubair and in both the meetings, Zubair raised issues regarding Mian Nawaz Sharif sahib and Maryam Nawaz sahiba,” the military’s spokesperson said.

    “In these meetings, the army chief made it clear to him that the legal issues of both of them would be resolved in Pakistani courts and political issues would be resolved in Pakistani parliament. Army should be kept away from these issues,” the ISPR DG said, adding that he would make no more comments over the issue.

    Following ISPR DG’s comments, PML-N leader Muhammad Zubair also confirmed his meetings with the COAS Bajwa.

    “Army chief termed matters against the PML-N leaders as legal affairs and said that courts should decide on them,” he said while quoting General Bajwa, and further added that such meetings are held in secret.

    The second meeting was held in the presence of ISI DG, the PML-N leader said. He denied seeking any relief for Nawaz and Maryam during the meetings and said that they discussed political matters.

    Zubair claimed that Maryam was unaware of the meetings initially but he later apprised her regarding the contacts made by him. “If I had been seeking relief for Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz then they would have known prior to the meeting,” Zubair said.

    He further expressed his ignorance as to why details regarding the meetings are being conveyed to the media.

  • Army to finally launch Askari Airline?

    Army to finally launch Askari Airline?

    Amid controversies surrounding the licences of several Pakistani pilots, which have also led to the suspension of Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) authorisation to operate in European Union (EU) member states and the United Kingdom (UK), a newspaper clipping pertaining to the launch of army’s Askari Airline has left Twitterati in doubts.

    “Preparations for the launch of Askari Airline completed; licence issued,” read the undated Urdu newspaper clipping making the rounds on the internet.

    The undated Urdu newspaper clipping making the rounds on the internet

    It added that “the chief of army staff (COAS) would inaugurate the project that was in its final stages owing to the efforts of the Army Welfare Trust (AWT)” — Pakistani conglomerate also known as Askari Group of Companies — and mentioned details of the airline’s fleet.

    The clipping drew the ire of a majority of netizens who attempted to draw a link between the downfall of the national carrier and the alleged impending launch of Askari Airline, compelling The Current to look into the claims.

    According to prominent aviation journalist Tahir Imran, Askari Airline was given approval a few years ago, which suggests that the clipping is not a recent one.

    When contacted, Imran said that Askari Airline was among six new airlines that had applied to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for regular public transport (RPT) licences in 2018.

    “These airlines are Liberty Air owned by Chaudhry Munir and Mian Amir, Go Green Airways owned by Elahi Group, Askari Air owned by AWT, United Airways Pakistan Limited owned by Adnan Tabani, AirSial owned by the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Afeef Zara Airways owned by Rashid Siddiqui,” he said, adding that even though they had been granted licences, no other airline except AirSial was for now in a position to launch flight operations.

    “But even AirSial faces an uncertain future as its launch scheduled for May 2020 has indefinitely been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic among other reasons. It might see the light of day by 2020’s end… but everything depends on how the current situation pans out.”

    To a question regarding the fate of Askari Airline, Imran said that no appointments in this regard had so far been reported, let alone any progress towards its launch. “Askari, as well as other upcoming airlines except AirSial, lack the required infrastructure for now and their launch within the ongoing year doesn’t seem possible.”

    ASKARI AVIATION SERVICES:

    Speaking of Askari Aviation Services (AAS), he said it was run by AWT and its activities included domestic and international travel as well as transportation by Askari Charter Services (ACS), ground handling services at Islamabad airport by Askari Airport Services (AAPS), domestic and international air travel ticketing by Askari Travel & Tour (AT&T), ground, cabin and flying training of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft by Askari Flying Academy (AFA) beside aircraft and helicopter maintenance and operation services through Askari Aviation (Pvt) Ltd (AAL).

    “In addition to its integral fleet of helicopter and aircraft, AAS also enjoys the backing of Pakistan Army Aviation and is providing international charter services to the army for its United Nations (UN) peacekeeping troops deployed around the world,” he said.

  • COAS Gen Bajwa ‘takes notice’ of misbehaviour of army colonel’s wife towards police

    COAS Gen Bajwa ‘takes notice’ of misbehaviour of army colonel’s wife towards police

    Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has reportedly taken notice of the mistreatment of police personnel by a woman claiming to be the wife of an army colonel, a video of which went viral on social media on Wednesday night.

    According to journalist Gharidah Farooqi, Gen Bajwa has ordered “prompt disciplinary action” against the military officer.

    “[The case of the] video of a serving military officer’s wife misbehaving with police at a check post on Hazara Motorway. COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa takes prompt notice. Immediate disciplinary action initiated against the officer concerned,” she tweeted while welcoming the army chief’s decision.

    It was also tweeted by Senator Rehman Malik of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

    “We must appreciate the prompt notice taken by Gen Qamar Javed Bajawa by ordering disciplinary action against the officer whose family misbehaved with the police,” he said, adding that the development spoke volumes of the army’s accountability system.

    READ: Inflation: Armed forces demand 20 per cent increase in salaries

    On Wednesday night, a viral video showed a woman misbehaving with police officials at a check post on Hazara Motorway in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) after she was stopped for what netizens say were security reasons.

    Claiming to be a colonel’s wife, the woman seemed insulted as she launched verbal attacks against the cops who continued to calm her down. The woman was also seen maneuvering her car at the police personnel until finally driving off after removing the barricade.

    WATCH VIDEO [STRONG LANGUAGE WARNING]:

    As ‘#ColonelKiBiwi’ trends on Twitter in Pakistan, a group of netizens has claimed that the woman’s husband, Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Farooq Khan, has also had a similar reaction to police officers conducting their job and doing a routine security check.

    READ: From interior to info, health, telecom, power, civil aviation among others: Military men serving Pakistan

    While The Current has not yet been able to independently verify the claim, here’s a video of the woman’s alleged husband.

    Support is pouring in for the cops who were and are mistreated by those who think they are above the law, as people demand an end to the culture.

    Have anything to add to the story? Let The Current know in the comments.