Army not being handed control of Islamabad, says Nisar

Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said Sunday that the government’s decision to call for the army’s assistance in maintaining the law and order situation in Islamabad for three months under Article 245 of the Constitution was not linked with any political party or public gathering.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Nisar said that politicians trying to link the government’s decision of calling in the army with any political party or political rally were only making the army’s role controversial during a crucial time. Nisar said that the decision to call for the Army’s assistance in maintaining the law and order situation in the federal capital city had been taken before the initiation of the ongoing Zarb-e-Azb operation in North Waziristan following a precedent set during the military operation of 2010.

Lashing out at those criticising the government’s decision to invoke Article 245 of the Constitution, the federal interior minister said that the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) was not the first government to call for the military’s assistance and several other governments, including the previous Pakistan People Party (PPP)-led coalition government, had also sought the help of the army invoking the use of Article 245 of the Constitution.

He added that even though Article 245 of the Constitution had been invoked 11 times during the past seven years an issue was created only when the army was called in for assistance by the incumbent government.
Nisar said that Islamabad was not being handed over to the army rather the armed forces were only called in to assist in maintaining law and order situation and would remain under the civil administration.

PTI UNCONVINCED:

Responding to Nisar’s statements, PTI leader Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi questioned why the army was called in only to the federal capital city. He said there appeared to political motives behind the government’s move of invoking Article 245 of the Constitution.

On Saturday, the PTI core committee had warned the government against invoking Article 245, arguing that using the army for political purposes was dangerous and if the decision was not reversed, the party reserved the right to challenge it in the Supreme Court.

The PTI said that the government is seeking to place the PTI’s Azadi March in direct confrontation with the army, which is a dangerous tactic and also a futile exercise because the party has always had a culture of peaceful protests and marches.