Dispelling the impression that the military aimed at benefiting from the postponement of the general election, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa on Thursday said the Pakistan Army wanted free, fair, transparent and timely general election in the country.
Talking to a group of journalist, Bajwa said the military had been supporting the incumbent democratic setup for the past five years and would continue to do so in the future as well, adding that delay in holding general elections would not benefit the army in any way.
He said the imposition of the governor’s rule in Balochistan was a political decision made by the federal government.
In the same manner, revoking the governor’s rule or not calling the army in Balochistan would also be a political decision.
Moreover, he added that it would also be a political decision if the provincial government was restored in Balochistan.
To a question, the ISPR DG said the army had waged a war against terrorist organisations across the country, adducing that the country was in a state of war and urged all institutions to unite in the fight against terrorism.
To a question on the law and order in Balochistan, Maj Gen Bajwa said the army was in no way reluctant to go into Balochistan to restore peace.
He said 19 new checkposts had been established in Quetta that would be manned by Frontier Corps (FC) as part of efforts to strengthen security in the wake of attacks on the Hazara community.
“A targeted operation led by the FC and supported by the police and intelligence agencies in underway in the province,” he maintained.
Bajwa rubbished assertions that the armed forces were in contact with any militant organisation, including the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, making it clear that the army was fighting a war against terrorism in all its form and manifestations.
Commenting on the role of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Bajwa said it was operating within its constitutional parameters and during the last four months it had carried out 130 intelligence operations in Balochistan and prevented several terrorist incidents.
He especially mentioned an operation in which 39,000kgs of explosives were recovered in August last year.
Asked about the deployment of army in Balochistan, he said not even a single soldier was deployed anywhere in Balochistan during the last five years.
To a question, he said the country was in a state of war and there was need for a united and comprehensive response by all institutions.
He appreciated the role of media, the Foreign Office and the military leadership for mature handling of the issue of Indian incursions across the Line of Control (LOC).
Regarding extradition of Faqir Muhammad, he said, “Our Foreign Office is contact with Afghan Foreign Office in this regard.”
