Islamabad :
Following a reported stalemate between the civilian and military leadership over the appointment of a new director general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday received a summary of the country’s most powerful positions.
According to the report, a federal minister told Dawn on condition of anonymity that the prime minister had received a summary containing the names for the post of director general of ISI.
On the other hand, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) reprimanded its National Assembly member Amir Dogar for meeting the Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and giving details of the Prime Minister’s remarks in the cabinet.
In addition, Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry had tweeted that the consultation between the Prime Minister and the Army Chief on the appointment of the new DG ISI has been completed and the appointment process has begun.
Earlier, while briefing the media about the meeting of the federal cabinet, he had stated that the prime minister wanted the appointment of a new DG ISI in accordance with the constitution.
However, according to defense experts, the appointment procedure is not listed in the Constitution and the Army Act, and in the past all appointments were made according to the tradition of the Army Chief proposing three names to the Prime Minister, who then makes the final decision. ۔
It may be recalled that last week, the Pakistan Army Public Relations Department (ISPR) had announced that Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmed Anjum has been appointed as the new head of ISI while Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed has been posted as Corps Commander Peshawar.
As the notification of the appointment was not issued by the Prime Minister’s Office for the next few days, speculation spread in the federal capital and the government was forced to break its silence on the issue.
The Information Minister then told the media that there was a long meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Chief of Army Staff last night after which the Prime Minister took the Cabinet into confidence on the issue.
Amir Dogar, meanwhile, revealed that the prime minister had told the federal cabinet that he had told the army chief that he wanted the current DG ISI to remain in place for some time due to the precarious situation in neighboring Afghanistan.
Fawad Chaudhry had said that the Prime Minister has the authority to appoint DG ISI and he had a detailed meeting with Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in this regard. And will follow the constitutional procedure.
The federal minister had made it clear that no action would be taken by the prime minister’s office or the military setup to damage each other’s reputation.
