ISLAMABAD: The political developments have ended growing speculations of the civil-military rift, invalidating the opposition’s claims to strike deal with the establishment.
The narrative of the opposition has been negated after Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) made claims for striking a deal with establishment after the federal government led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) alleged failures while being in power.
Yesterday, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed had given a clear message to the opposition, saying that some people are willing to create a rift between the government and military establishment, however, they will not be succeeded. He had claimed that there was no place for four Sharifs in national politics.
The opposition parties had tried to give an impression that the PTI-led government lacked the support of the military establishment after its defeat in the first phase of local government (LG) elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Later, PML-N leaders and some TV anchorpersons had claimed that Nawaz Sharif was contacted in London and plans were being prepared to bring him back to the country.
To end the impression, Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (DG-ISPR) Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar in a press conference rubbished speculations military establishment’s talks with Nawaz Sharif and said that the armed forces should not be dragged into political affairs.
In another development, the impression of a rift between Prime Minister Imran Khan and new Director-General Inter-Services Intelligence (DG-ISI) Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum was also negated after the premier’s visit to the ISI headquarters where he was briefed on the overall security situation of the country.
A one-on-one meeting was also held between PM Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, whereas, the premier had also launched the National Security Policy (NSP) yesterday.
The series of developments have indicated the establishment’s unwavering support to the PTI-led government besides invalidating the opposition’s claims.