Farah Sohail
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Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Wednesday expressed concern over media debate vis-à-vis Army and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) saying "the role of national institutions should not be criticised." He said this in an informal chat with senior journalists at a farewell reception for outgoing Chief of Air Staff Rao Qamar Suleman at the Prime Minister's House.
He said most of the TV channels do not favour soldiers defending the national borders at below 20 Celsius.
These men in uniform need motivation instead of debate to discourage them, the CoAS added.
He did not single out any TV channel or talk show but said that debates on some channels are not contributing positively towards promotion of national institutions.While giving examples of other countries like Israel, he said they never uttered a word against their intelligence agencies, the way ISI is being openly discussed in Pakistan.
"Even in countries like the United States, the role of agencies is not discussed publicly," he said.The CoAS was of the view that everybody makes mistakes but it did not mean that the moral of the institutions is undermined.
"It takes very long to build institutions," he added.
About the Balochistan issue, he was of the view that there was no military operation going on in the province and as discussed there is no plan to build new cantonments in Balochistan.He said the cantonment at Sui has already been made a military college and we have set up a medical college in Quetta which is working.
The only thing, the army did is settlement of dispute among different tribes to accelerate the pace of development, he said.
About the missing persons, the CoAS said that a report revealed there were only 47 missing persons in Pakistan as compared to 350 in India and 11,000 in Sri Lanka.
He, however did not comments much on the issue saying that the mater is in court.The CoAS observed that the parliament is supreme and the issue of Nato supplies and relations with the United States would be resolved in accordance with the decision of the parliament.
About war on terror, Kayani said he had advised the US military officials not to visit Pakistan before the joint session of the parliament which would draw fresh guidelines for relations with the United States and Pakistan's role in war on terror.
Answering a question about Mehran Bank scam, General Kayani said that it had happened 20 years ago and discussing it now was fighting the history.
He said "We should learn from the past, live in present with a focus on future." The Army Chief categorically denied reports that the army or the ISI is supporting Imran Khan.
He said if there is any proof of this, it should be made public.
Another source on the same topic:
Islamabad: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said only Parliament will decide about the resumption of Nato supplies.
Speaking to senior journalists at a farewell reception given in honour of Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman at the Prime Minister House, he said that he will not hold a meeting with any senior US military officer including Gen Mattis before the joint session of Parliament scheduled for March 17 for the resumption of nato supplies.
Commenting on ongoing Mehran Bank scandal he said that the scandal was a 20-year old issue and “if you want to fight with history in this context, it’s your choice to do so. However, establishing institutions require a lot of hard work and the media should be careful … that their words do not undermine these institutions.”
Answering on a question on Balochistan he said that no operation is going on in the province however, Frontier Constabulary is performing its duties there. About 10,000 young people were recruited into the armed forces from Balochistan who were about to complete their training, he added.
Refuting the allegations regarding the involvement of intelligence agencies in missing person’s cases, he said that institutions are not made easily, however, that they are also not above criticism. Gen Kayani added that one should be careful that while criticizing one must not undermine national institutions or organizations.
The COAS also said that only 47 people are missing in Balochistan. He defended the army, saying its activities had helped improve the standard of living for the people of Balochistan.
COAS said that he respect free media. But media should give national interest utmost importance while unfolding any story.
Using the US as an example, the COAS said that the American army was not criticized by its people as harshly as the Pakistan Army was criticized by Pakistanis. The US media is careful in reporting events of US casualties in Afghanistan, for example. He said that the ruthless criticism of ISI in Pakistan was far higher than any criticism made on RAW, Mosad or the CIA in India, Israel or USA.
He said most of the TV channels do not favour soldiers defending the national borders at below 20 Celsius.
These men in uniform need motivation instead of debate to discourage them, the CoAS added.
He did not single out any TV channel or talk show but said that debates on some channels are not contributing positively towards promotion of national institutions.While giving examples of other countries like Israel, he said they never uttered a word against their intelligence agencies, the way ISI is being openly discussed in Pakistan.
"Even in countries like the United States, the role of agencies is not discussed publicly," he said.The CoAS was of the view that everybody makes mistakes but it did not mean that the moral of the institutions is undermined.
"It takes very long to build institutions," he added.
About the Balochistan issue, he was of the view that there was no military operation going on in the province and as discussed there is no plan to build new cantonments in Balochistan.He said the cantonment at Sui has already been made a military college and we have set up a medical college in Quetta which is working.
The only thing, the army did is settlement of dispute among different tribes to accelerate the pace of development, he said.
About the missing persons, the CoAS said that a report revealed there were only 47 missing persons in Pakistan as compared to 350 in India and 11,000 in Sri Lanka.
He, however did not comments much on the issue saying that the mater is in court.The CoAS observed that the parliament is supreme and the issue of Nato supplies and relations with the United States would be resolved in accordance with the decision of the parliament.
About war on terror, Kayani said he had advised the US military officials not to visit Pakistan before the joint session of the parliament which would draw fresh guidelines for relations with the United States and Pakistan's role in war on terror.
Answering a question about Mehran Bank scam, General Kayani said that it had happened 20 years ago and discussing it now was fighting the history.
He said "We should learn from the past, live in present with a focus on future." The Army Chief categorically denied reports that the army or the ISI is supporting Imran Khan.
He said if there is any proof of this, it should be made public.
Another source on the same topic:
Islamabad: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said only Parliament will decide about the resumption of Nato supplies.
Speaking to senior journalists at a farewell reception given in honour of Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman at the Prime Minister House, he said that he will not hold a meeting with any senior US military officer including Gen Mattis before the joint session of Parliament scheduled for March 17 for the resumption of nato supplies.
Commenting on ongoing Mehran Bank scandal he said that the scandal was a 20-year old issue and “if you want to fight with history in this context, it’s your choice to do so. However, establishing institutions require a lot of hard work and the media should be careful … that their words do not undermine these institutions.”
Answering on a question on Balochistan he said that no operation is going on in the province however, Frontier Constabulary is performing its duties there. About 10,000 young people were recruited into the armed forces from Balochistan who were about to complete their training, he added.
Refuting the allegations regarding the involvement of intelligence agencies in missing person’s cases, he said that institutions are not made easily, however, that they are also not above criticism. Gen Kayani added that one should be careful that while criticizing one must not undermine national institutions or organizations.
The COAS also said that only 47 people are missing in Balochistan. He defended the army, saying its activities had helped improve the standard of living for the people of Balochistan.
COAS said that he respect free media. But media should give national interest utmost importance while unfolding any story.
Using the US as an example, the COAS said that the American army was not criticized by its people as harshly as the Pakistan Army was criticized by Pakistanis. The US media is careful in reporting events of US casualties in Afghanistan, for example. He said that the ruthless criticism of ISI in Pakistan was far higher than any criticism made on RAW, Mosad or the CIA in India, Israel or USA.
