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Political, religious leaders express mixed views on COAS appointment
Analysts, political and religious leaders on Wednesday expressed mixed views over the appointment of new Chief of Army Staff Gen. Raheel Sharif in SAMAA TV's current affairs programme 'Nadeem Malik Live' on Wednesday. Pakistan People''s Pa...rty (PPP) leader Fawad Chaudhry said that PM Nawaz Sharif has always tried to accumulate power. The new appointment seems to be an endeavor in this regard. Senior journalist and analyst Ansar Abbasi said that he was surprised over the new army chief's appointmen, adding the prime minister was supposed to appoint the senior most person on the slot. "I don't oppose the appointment but I think we need to choose better people and seniority should have been given the priority," he added. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Information Minister Shah Farman said that we should avoid criticizing the PM's decision. "There are so many challenges for the new army chief," he said. Answering a question regarding illegal Afghanis residing in Pakistan, he said: "We have always demanded that Afghanis residing illegally in Pakistan must be sent back to their country." Expressing his views at the program, Maulana Tahir Ashrafi said: "We should not keep on criticizing the decision but rather we must look forward and hope that the new army chief would play a positive role in making better relations between political and army leadership. We must get ourselves out of the war that has been imposed on us." Commenting over PTI's protest, he said that the nation was still divided over blocking the NATO supply lines. Answering a question regarding Haqqanis, Abbasi said that they came to Pakistan with legal documents and they are real 'Jihadis' in their country. He criticized the US, saying it has always wanted governments of its choice in the world. The host Nadeem Malik also asked the guests about CJP Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry's performance. Answering the question, Abbasi said: "We support CJP who did not follow a dictator's orders. His refusal changed the whole scenario of the country. The governments must also cooperate with judiciary for better results." The KPK minister said that the CJP struggled for independent judiciary but unfortunately there were numerous thieves all around us who did not allow positive things to take hold in this country. Maulana Tahir Ashrafi said that CJP overall did a wonderful job but there were some question marks during his tenure including the case of his son. – SAMAA
