- ISPR chief believes JIT members worked with ‘honesty, dedication’
- Minister says every action to weak economy to be considered as conspiracy
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Asif Ghafoor has said that the army or the military establishment has no direct link with the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), set up by the Supreme Court to investigate the alleged offshore assets of the Sharif family.
During a press conference on the launch of a new military operation in Khyber Agency, the army spokesperson faced a barrage of queries related to the country’s political situation despite his repeated refusals to get into any controversy.
“The JIT was made by the Supreme Court. Two of its members belong to the Inter-Services Intelligence and the Military Intelligence. It is a subjudice case and it will go to court,” he said. “There is no direct army involvement in the JIT,” he asserted. “Pakistan Army will continue playing its role for the security of Pakistan with other institutions,” he said.
In reply to a question, Maj General Ghafoor said that the JIT members worked with honesty and dedication. “Every person has freedom of opinion. People who believe that the army is doing its best for the country are not part of a campaign to discredit the institution on social media,” he said, adding that those who believe otherwise were under the foreign influence.
“Political talk is in the political domain,” he said. The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was not the only institution involved in the Raymond Davis affair, he said when asked to comment on the CIA contractor’s book wherein he states former ISI chief Lt General Shuja Pasha orchestrated his release from the jail.
Talking about the military courts, he said at present 40 cases were under process. Regarding the 17 terrorists nabbed in Parachinar, he said that their case in the military court would be fast-tracked. Terming the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as very critical for the progress of Pakistan, he said that the armed forces would give it complete security and would not let it fail at any cost.
Army chief’s message: The ISPR director general also read out a message from Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa during the press conference. “We are building peace in our country brick by brick and moving from relative stability towards enduring peace. For this, the army should continue to perform its role with the support of all other state institutions,” he said.
Its is pertinent to mention here that the Pakistan Muslim League-N leadership including the prime minister and the federal ministers already rejected the JIT report as inconclusive. The ruling party also raised questions on the performance of the JIT members.
Senior PML-N leader Saad Rafique said that the investigation team was on a one-way traffic. “It is biased and politically motivated and we shall contest it with all evidence and arguments in the Supreme Court,” he said. “The JIT report is fairy-tale and this narrative will change when we will contest it in the court,” he said.
When asked about conspiracy, he told the questioner he was not pointing towards those about whom others were thinking. Barrister Zafarullah said that many of the papers filed by the JIT were not based on facts. It seemed that many of questions were fed to JIT by someone, he said.
On Sunday, Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that the government has decided to defend every clause of the JIT report with complete proofs in the court. He said that the PML-N government would complete its constitutional term. He said that the PML-N would win the 2018 general elections with a majority vote.
In a TV interview, Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that everyone should wait for the verdict of the Supreme Court on Panama Papers case and the government would accept the court decision. As per the constitution, the prime minister had every right to defend himself before the court, he said.
“We had not levelled allegation of conspiracy against anyone but every action which could weaken country’s economy would be considered a conspiracy,” he cleared the statements of the ministers on the issue of conspiracies against the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
