saturday, 19 november, 2022 i 23 rabi us sani, 1444 i rs 15.00 | Vol Xiii no 140 i 12 Pages i islamabad edition
Appointment of new CoAS in Couple of dAyS: SAnAullAh g
Kh Asif hopeful About completion of whole mAtter next weeK ISLAMABAD
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staff report
efence minister Khawaja Asif on friday said the next army chief would be appointed by next week. in an interview with Geo news show “Aaj shahzeb Khanzada Kay sath”, Kh Asif said: “the process will start rolling on monday and hopefully the decision of this whole matter will be before you by next week and the new army chief’s name will be revealed.” the defence minister also lashed out at pti chief imran Khan for making the process controversial and casting “aspersions” on the candidates for the next army chief. “no politician has made the kind of allegations on the army leadership as imran Khan has.” earlier, interior minister rana sanaullah said the matter of the next army chief’s appointment would be set-
tled in a “day or two”. in an interview with Geo news show ‘naya pakistan’, sanaullah said: “i believe the prime minister has completed this process (of consultation about the army chief appointment) and will bring it to paper, today or tomorrow or the
next two days, [it] takes no time.” upon further questioning, the interior minister seemingly reproached the interviewer and said: “i will also request you that this is a matter of a day or two so don’t ask questions which can lead to unnecessary speculation,” adding
that in his opinion there “is not a lot of time left to this decision and it will come before you”. sanaullah said that a further delay in the matter would not be “appropriate” and the next army chief would be appointed in the next two days. the interior minister also alleged that the purpose of the pti’s march to islamabad was the army chief’s appointment, rather than snap elections. “the long march is not really present anywhere — it’s only on the media,” he added. Zardari against ‘Politicising’ aPPointMent: earlier today, former president Asif Zardari said that he strongly believed in the procedure laid out for promotions in the army. commenting on the appointment of the next army chief, the ppp co-chairman added that all three-star generals were equal and fully qualified.
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need to revisit counter-terror policy amid ‘war or talks’ scenario: Bilawal ISLAMABAD staff report
foreign minister bilawal bhutto Zardari on friday said pakistan would not take a solo flight to recognize the interim government of Afghanistan and stressed reviewing the country’s counter-terrorism policy to prevent the resurgence of militancy. At a press conference held on the completion of six months of the government’s foreign policy, he called the need for an “in-camera review” to reform the approach on counter-terrorism in a bid to prevent the factors that gave rise to militancy in the past.
Asked if peace in Afghanistan meant countering the tehreek-e-taliban pakistan (ttp), he said it was important to internally review the policy. “never think that the matter of ttp is as blackand-white as either it would be war or negotiations with them,” he said, highlighting that pakistan in recent years had undergone a successful journey to eliminate terrorism and extremism from its soil. however, he said, “there is nothing wrong with reexamining the approach on counter-terrorism viz-a-viz developments in the region”. Peace in afghanistan crucial for Pakistan region: “when we came to power, we decided to engage with Afghan authorities regardless of
our differences for greater national interest. we won’t take a solo flight on the matter of recognition of the Afghan government,” he said. on closure of chaman border, he said terrorist attacks on pakistan’s security forces from the Afghan side led to closure of the border and urged the Afghan government to take measures not to let their country’s soil used against its neighbour. he said peace in Afghanistan was crucial for pakistan and the region, and urged the international community to get engaged with the interim government of Afghanistan to avert a humanitarian crisis.
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Marriyum terms imran’s failed long march ‘work from home’ ISLAMABAD staff report
minister for information and broadcasting marriyum Aurangzeb said on friday that pakistan tehreek-einsaf chairman imran Khan’s failed long march had become “work from home” adventure. Addressing a press conference, here, she said “imran Khan is in grief as his failed long march had been changed into work from home”. “our watches show us the time, imran Khan’s watch has shown him his reality (‘ auqat’), she said while taking a jibe at the pti chief. she lamented that imran Khan allegedly sold the watch “having image of the holy Kaaba” for a few “pennies”. she said that today’s address of imran Khan convinced them (the government) that he (imran Khan) had not been hit by the bullet but was hit by grief and sorrow due to failed long march, she alleged. she, however, clarified that revealing the facts regarding imran Khan did not mean she was mocking the pti chairman as he was bedridden due to injury. the minister said that she was responding to a healthy man who was in the habit of speaking lies, levelling allegations and slandering his opponents including maryam nawaz. “mr. imran Khan ! people are not foolish and unwise to believe your lies and false allegations,” she said. the minister said that the people of the country had understood the real meaning and moto behind the “haqaqi Azadi march” as they could not be befooled any more. “when the no-confidence motion came against imran Khan, he (imran) said that there was a us conspiracy that wanted to impose an imported government,” she added. she said that imran Khan was a “hypocritical person” who always took u-turns and changed his stance frequently as he (imran) believed that the people of the country were “fools” who would believe in his propaganda of lies.
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