Observer Report
Islamabad
Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa called on Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Prime Minister’s office on Monday and discussed the Machh attack, the Afghan peace process, Indian ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and regional security matters. Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence Lt.-Gen. Faiz Hameed was also present in the meeting.
The civil-military leadership expressed sorrow over the loss of lives in the Machh incident and vowed to bring the culprits behind the Machh tragedy to justice at all costs.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan formed a five-member ministerial committee aimed at keeping a close eye on the law and order situation in the country in the wake of PDM’s protest in Islamabad.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad is being tasked to lead the committee, which would also include Law Minister Farogh Naseem, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood and Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar. A notification issued by the PM office said that the committee would monitor the law and order situation and protests being held in Islamabad.
According to sources, the committee was formed in the wake of the PDM’s protest in Islamabad and it would be entitled to hold talks with the protestors. The committee would convey minute-by-minute details to the prime minister regarding the law and order situation.silence vis-à-vis unprecedented criticism of the security institutions by some opposition leaders, Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar said, “The military would have responded if there was any truth in it. There is not truth in the allegations.” He reiterated that the military has rendered sacrifices and would continue to do so. “The morale is high, not just of the army but of the families of all our martyrs,” he added.
The DG ISPR stated that no terrorist stronghold was found in the country. He explained that the there were small unorganised groups but no evidence of an organisational infrastructure.
Answering a question he said that the army chief will be visiting bereaved families of the Machh coal miners this week. He said India was involved in promoting anti-Pakistan agenda in six domains, which include abetting terrorism, targeting economy, using diplomacy, fomenting chaos, Kashmir and social issues.
He said the EU DisinfoLab revealed New Delhi’s planned propaganda against Pakistan on the behest of the State of India. “Indian aggression in Kashmir was cleverly kept in hiding from the international watch, while an unfounded propaganda was unleashed in favour of revocation of Article 370,” he said, adding that the EU parliamentarians were invited to visit the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in personal capacity, but they were portrayed as EU representatives.
