Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Kayani has said that the Pakistan Army would have no objection if the government decided in favour of talks with the Taliban. Following a security briefing by top military leaders to the Senate and National Assembly standing committees on defence and defence production at the Army Auditorium in General Headquarters, a source told Pakistan Today that the army chief had, however, made it clear that militants challenging Pakistan’s sovereignty would be dealt with sternly.
Earlier, Gen Kayani and Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Major General Ashfaq Nadeem gave a detailed security briefing to the Senate and National Assembly standing committees on defence and defence production. The military leadership expressed concern over the inordinate delay in amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), saying action against terrorists would not help the country until the lacunae in the law were removed to effectively deal with the criminals who took advantage of weaknesses in the law of evidence and went scot-free.
An ISPR statement issued after the nearly four-hour-long briefing said General Kayani welcomed the honourable parliamentarians to the General Headquarters. “After a formal brief by the DGMO, an interactive session of questions and answers followed. The focus remained on the ongoing military operations,” it said.
General Kayani also shared various matters related to the defence budget. The members of the Senate and National Assembly standing committees thanked the COAS on hosting a comprehensive briefing session and clarifying their queries and doubts, the statement added. A parliamentarian, who attended the briefing, said the military leadership expressed concern over the lacunas in the anti-terrorism law and urged the need for going for all necessary amendments to make the law more effective.
“The security agencies arrest terrorists but because of insufficient evidence, they are able to go scot-free,” General Kayani was quoted as saying by Sahibzada Fazal Karim. He said the military leadership was of the view that there must be effective counter-terrorism legislation and policies to deal with the menace of terrorism.
The NA Parliamentary Committee for National Security headed by Mian Raza Rabbani was also invited to attend the security briefing, but it said no to the invitation on grounds that it was against parliamentary norms and practices and the generals should come to parliament and brief parliamentarians there.
The parliamentary bodies on defence, however, opted to attend the GHQ briefing, with PML-N senior leader Raja Zafarul Haq also attending.
Sahibzada Fazal Karim told Pakistan Today that General Kayani said there would be no compromise on Pakistan’s sovereignty. “No one shall be allowed to go for assaults in Pakistani territory and all preparations for the defence of country have been carried out,” General Kayani was quoted as saying. He said the military leadership expressed concern over the repeated attacks by Afghanistan-based militants in Pakistani border regions close to Dir and Chitral. “The military leaders informed the parliamentarians that they had deployed additional troops along the Afghan border and any incursions would be given a matching response,” Fazal Karim said. He said the parliamentarians were of the view that the recently held All-Parties Conference had given a clear message to the world that the whole nation was united for defending the country’s sovereignty.
A security official, who requested anonymity, said the military leaders told parliamentarians that any military operation against militants would be carried out in accordance with the guidelines set by parliament. He added that senior military officials said Pakistan wanted friendly ties with Washington on basis of equality and expected the same from the US.
Kayani gives ‘NOC’ for talks with Taliban
