LAHORE (Staff Report) – Just a day after incumbent Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif stated that current military leadership was not intervening in state affairs, former Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar has stated that Pakistani military has a much larger role in governance unlike any other democracy in the world.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, which will be aired on December 21, Khar went on to say that Pakistani military has always been playing a role in country beyond that given in constitution. She further added there were several affairs which had nothing to do with military that must be performed and decided by civilian leadership only.
Responding to another question Pakistan’s youngest Foreign Minister said “while I was holding the position in last PPP government I never consulted army on affairs that were not related to them such as trade with India was none of their business.”
When asked why US government first spoke to then army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani instead of President Asif Zardari or Prime Minsiter Yousuf Raza Gillani, immediately after 2011 Abbotabad raid in which al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden was killed; Hina Rabbani Khar said that United States had a long history of engagement with Pakistani army and this was a fact that they prefered military regimes in Pakistan.
She said that none of the Pakistani governments had guts to extend ties with India until resolution of Kashmir issue while answering whether Pakistan’s current government was able to mend relationship with India.
To another question Khar said that different scholarly studies in India had now confirmed that most of insurgency in Kashmir was backed actually by India instead of Pakistan, hence India needs to give up a little more there as compared to the latter.
