Nisar persuaded Sharif to involve army in political crisis: report

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan persuaded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to involve the military leadership in the current political crisis, according to a report in Dawn newspaper on Saturday.

The report said that in the meetings between the prime minister and Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif over the last week, the protesters and their demands were discussed repeatedly, but the military chief had not sought any role for himself. It added that details of the meetings were not shared with even the larger kitchen cabinet of the PML-N leadership.

However, the report said that the interior minister was in the loop to some extent as he and the Punjab chief minister have always been the bridge between the party and the military leadership. It is because of this role of his, the report quoted a PML-N official, that Nisar informed the prime minister that the military leadership was looking to reach out to the protesters.

The report said that Nisar convinced the prime minister that Dr Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan did not, and would not, trust any political leaders, including the opposition, and that they would only trust the military leadership. And at the same time, the interior minister reached out to the military leadership to convince them that unless it got involved, a peaceful resolution of the crisis may not be possible. It was after this, when the prime minister on Thursday evening, in Lahore, was given the message about the army chief, he agreed that the latter should meet Qadri and Khan, said the report.

However, once the news came out and the two protesting politicians rushed off to meet the COAS, there was an outburst of criticism. Admittedly, it was directed against those who were thrilled that the army chief was going to intervene and hear their grievances, but there was also a scathing attack on the government for asking the army to intervene.