LAHORE: Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah has on Friday termed the reaction by Major General Asif Ghafoor, the director general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) department of Pakistan army, regarding Khawaja Saad Rafique’s statement as ‘premature’.
Talking to media in Lahore, Khursheed Shah said that the reaction by the ISPR DG was premature since there was nothing in Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique’s statement that could be objected to.
He added that ISPR DG was quick to respond to Saad Rafique’s statement, warning that each word uttered by army carried a weight of its own considering the importance of the institution in the country.
Discussing the relations between Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), the PPP leader said that his party supported PAT’s stance on the issue of Model Town massacre but did not believe in the politics of sit-ins.
Saad Rafique, while addressing a seminar on the death anniversary of Khawaja Rafique, Saad’s father, had lauded army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s meeting with the parliamentarians in senate and said that Bajwa had always displayed unconditional support to democracy. However, he advised ‘those under army chief’s command’ to adhere to his resolve too.
Major General Asif Ghafoor had reacted to Saad Rafique’s statement strongly during a press briefing when he termed it irresponsible and unwarranted’. He also said that the issue needed addressing since the statement ‘was not unintended’. He said that the minister’s statement was ‘targeting army’s chain of command’ and went as far as claiming that his statement also clashed with the constitutional protection given to the institutions.
Saad Rafique had expressed ‘grief’ over the sharp reaction by the military spokesperson, saying that his statement was taken out of context and throughout his 27-minute speech, he had repeatedly stressed the need for institutional cohesion.
