ISLAMABAD – Former Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan lashed out at his fellow ministers for asking Pakistan to do more at a time when the Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was urging the international community to do the same.
The legislator, through his spokesperson on Saturday said that while commenting on crucial issues of national importance, government ministers should use facts and figures as the basis of their argument rather than ‘making assumption and presenting riddles’.
“The main reason for this [international] criticism is that we ourselves are in the habit of ridiculing and humiliating our country with our statements and attitudes. We provide foreign powers an opportunity to blame us for their own failures,” Nisar was quoted as saying in the statement.
The spokesperson highlighted the achievements in terms of the security situation in the country and credited federal and provincial governments, armed forces, civil armed forces and intelligence agencies for such improvement.
Nisar’s criticism towards his colleagues was more pointed this time with direct references to his successor Ahsan Iqbal and Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif.
“These two persons are minister since past four and a half years. Have they ever spoken before the cabinet meeting or during National Security Committee meeting over this issue? he stated.
The statement added that the ministers should come up with solutions and not make mere statements.
Reacting to Asif’s statement that Pakistan needed to put own house in order to avoid embarrassment at the international level, Nisar questioned: “Does the minister realise how much his statement was appreciated and publicised in India and how it was used by India to substantiate its baseless claim that the problem is with Pakistan?”
The former minister continued that of course there were some weaknesses and shortcoming vis-à-vis national security but these issues should be addressed through consultation, hard work and consensus.
“One should not make fun of it before the entire world through statements. The national security issues are very sensitive and one should consider national interests before speaking about them,” he said.
Taking a strong exception to the observations of Foreign Minister, Nisar stated it was ‘a fact’ that such statements were made to criticise the country’s intelligence agencies and armed forces.
The spokesperson also rubbished the claim that the former first lady was advised against leading a movement against General (retd) Pervez Musharraf after 1999 military coup by Nisar Ali Khan.
“Why has he recalled such a thing after the passage of almost 17 years? This is a matter of serious concern that Kulsoom Nawaz is unwell these days and she is not in a position to comment over such a news item,” the statement added.
