Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that “technical issues” in the appointment of Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) will be resolved soon, geo news reported on Thursday.
Sources with knowledge of the matter said that the Prime Minister made this statement in a meeting with the PTI Parliamentary Committee.
PM Imran Khan took the committee members into confidence on the current situation related to the appointment of ISI DG and said: “No one has better relations with the army than me”.
He then clarified that there was “no misunderstanding” between the government and the military leadership.
The Prime Minister had called an emergency meeting of the ruling party’s parliamentary group in Parliament House to discuss important national issues.
Sources had said that several PTI members protested when PTI Chief Whip Malik Amir Dogar suddenly called for a meeting.
He reportedly questioned why an emergency meeting was called at the last minute, saying it would take time to reach Islamabad.
‘Atmosphere of Confidence’
After the meeting, Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry held a press conference, where he said that “the decision regarding the appointment of the Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) will be made in an atmosphere of confidence”.
Chowdhury quoted the prime minister as saying that “ambiguity regarding the appointment has been removed”.
“PM Imran Khan said that in the entire history of the country, civil-military relations have never been as good as they are now,” Chowdhury said.
He said that the Prime Minister said that the honor and dignity of the army is dear to the whole country.
The federal minister said that PM Imran Khan and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa “solve every issue together through consultations”.
“The same mechanism was adopted in the case of appointment of DG of ISI also,” Choudhary said.
The minister said DG ISI would be appointed “soon”, the process of which is already “ongoing”.
‘Everything is mutually finalized’
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid also spoke to the media after the meeting, saying that “everything has been mutually decided and finalized” and there is a “very good understanding” between the government and the military.
He said the prime minister had not said anything about interviewing candidates for the post.
“He was looking at things in a political context, whereas the army has its own point of view,” Rasheed said.