Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, in an interview with a private news channel, on Tuesday said that no decision had yet been made regarding the matter of appointment of the next army chief, nor were any consultations initiated.
Lauding efforts of the army for facilitating the continuation of democratic setup in the country, Asif said, “Army has to be given credit for the completion of eight years of democratic system.”
The minister, however, declined to comment on the resignation of former information minister Pervaiz Rasheed, saying, “I will not comment on it since an investigation committee was working on it.”
To a question about the allegations levelled by political parties about the relationship between Sharif family and Justice (r) Amir Raza, who is made the head of committee formed to probe the ‘planted’ story, the minister said he did not have knowledge of any relationship between the Sharif family and Amir Raza.
“Shehbaz Sharif, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Ishaq Dar are looking after matters of national security news leak,” he added.
Commenting on the issue of Panama Papers, Asif said the opposition did not have concrete evidence and that they [opposition] were trying to prolong the Panama Papers scandal. “I respect the courts of Pakistan, hence, I will not comment on remarks made by judges regarding the Panama issue,” he added.
He, however, reiterated that the government was not afraid of accountability of the prime minister.
Asif, however, declined to comment when asked about the possibility of a judicial coup.
