ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Friday that the issue of appointment of a new Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) would be resolved within a week, but was hesitant to explain the reason for the delay.
However, while talking to Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry dawnSaid that the appointment of the new ISI chief was a “routine affair”, when both the civilian and military leadership had reached a consensus on the issue.
Speaking in a private TV show, Sheikh Rashid said that the issue was resolved amicably between the civil and military leadership of the country and “now the appointment [of ISI chief] Will be before next Friday.”
Asked what were the reasons behind the delay, the Home Minister said he knew the reasons but could not make them public as only Prime Minister Imran Khan can make people aware of the matter.
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Responding to a question, he dismissed the notion that the Prime Minister was being delayed by the House for some ‘spiritual and sacred’ reasons. “It is completely absurd that this issue is being deliberately delayed due to divine intervention. It is illogical that someone is doing magic,” he said.
Sheikh Rashid said there was no difference of opinion between the civilian and military leadership in the country and both sides were satisfied with their decision. He claimed that no one named current ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) parliamentary committee meeting chaired by the Prime Minister on Thursday.
The minister also rejected the media reports and Statement PTI Chief Whip in the National Assembly Amir Dogar said that PM Khan wanted Lt Gen Faiz to remain in his office for some more time due to the dire situation in neighboring Afghanistan.
He said that the spy agencies of the country have defeated 42 intelligence agencies of different countries in Afghanistan. “They [military authorities] Will not go back on his process,” he said.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that the issue of appointment of new ISI Director General would be resolved in a day or two. However, he was reluctant to comment further on the matter, saying: “There was no significant development on the issue today (Friday).”
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations, the army chief has recently reshuffled the top military hierarchy, moving ISI Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed to the post of Corps Commander Peshawar, and Corps Commander Karachi to Lt Gen Nadeen Ahmed Anjum. Appointed as new ISI chief. .
However, a standoff developed over the issue between the civilian and military leadership as the prime minister was reportedly reluctant to appoint a new ISI chief “against the law and constitutional norms”.
Published in Dawn, October 16, 2021