DUBAI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday said that Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif’s decision to retire will turn people’s hopes into disappointment and can also affect the country’s war on terror negatively.
Terming the COAS’s decision as premature, Zardari said the retirement decision at this critical juncture of Pakistan’s history may turn people’s hopes into despair, as internal and external elements are hatching conspiracies against the motherland. The statement released on Tuesday further said that the army’s struggle against terrorism and for stability of the country is unmatched and PPP stands shoulder to shoulder with the army and lauds all its soldiers for the sacrifices rendered.
“Nation is united against terrorism and people are hopeful that the war on terror will reach its logical conclusion under the leadership of General Raheel Sharif,” said the former president. It must be remembered that Zardari, back in June last year, cautioned the army in a hard-hitting speech, where he lashed out at the military establishment for overstepping its domain. The former president had earlier stated that army chiefs change after every three years, but the political leadership stays. “We know the country better and we know how to run its affairs,” he had stressed in his now infamous speech.
Zardari had said that he did not want to weaken the country’s institutions, but “they [establishment] should also not try to create hurdles for politicians.” “This is our country, our army and we want to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them.” He had suggested that the establishment separate itself from politics and not interfere in matters out of its domain. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had cancelled his pre-scheduled meeting with Zardari after this speech. Within a week, the PPP co-chairman left the country for UAE for Dubai, where he currently resides.
Last month Gen Raheel had announced he will retire from service when his three-year term ends, ending weeks of speculation that the tenure of army chief was likely to be extended. In messages posted on Twitter, ISPR DG Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa had said that rumours about an extension in the service of the army chief were baseless. “Pakistan Army is a great institution. I don’t believe in extension and will retire on the due date,” the DG ISPR quoted Gen Raheel Sharif as saying. “Efforts to [root] out terrorism will continue with full vigor and resolve. Pakistan’s national interest is supreme and will be safe guarded at all costs,” said Gen Raheel Sharif.
General Raheel Sharif is set to retire from service in November this year. Rumours had been circulating in Islamabad and Rawalpindi that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has decided to offer extension to General Raheel Sharif. A section of the media claimed that the army chief had not accepted the offer but he may do so, with reports claiming that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was also playing his role in this regard. But Gen Sharif’s announcement put an end to weeks of speculation that his term would extend longer than November 29, his date of retirement.
The country’s past two military chiefs had sought extensions of their terms instead of stepping down. General Pervez Musharraf and General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani shared the office of chief of army staff between them for almost 16 years, with Musharraf remaining army chief for almost ten years. Gen Raheel took over as chief of army staff from Gen Kayani, who stepped down on November 29, 2013 after serving six years at the top military slot. Raheel Sharif’s appointment was approved by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on November 27 the same year.
Gen Raheel Sharif has been instrumental in leading Pakistan’s fight against extremism, militancy and terrorism in the form of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, which was launched after a deadly terrorist attack on Karachi’s Jinnah International airport and the failure of peace talks between the government and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) negotiators. Leaders of peace jirga had staged a protest rally against the retirement decision of Gen Raheel Sharif last month and asked the government to ensure his extension on the basis of his performance in the war against terrorism. The rally participants chanted full-throated slogans in favour of COAS General Raheel Sharif and asked him to take back the decision of retirement in November 2016.
