No undue meddling of army in govt affairs: Asif

 Says all institutions contributed towards achievement of targets in war on terror

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Thursday rejected the general impression that the incumbent military leadership was unduly interfering in the civilian government’s affairs. He expressed these views in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Asif rejected the impression of military interference in governance matters adding that those making such claims should view today in the context of what had happened in the past.

He said the country was passing through a transitional period and the targets will be achieved in the next three to four years. The minister said all the institutions had contributed towards the achievement of targets in the war against terrorism.

He said the military directly ruled the country for 40 years and it also kept on breathing down the neck of civilian governments indirectly.

“It’s not the right impression that we’re competing with any other institution for acquiring power. We help each other as institutions. As a witness to the rule of four military governments, my experience suggests that one more general election and transfer of power to the next civilian leadership will set all this gossip-mongering to rest.”

Giving the example of Turkey, he said there was a long tug-of-war between the civilian government and the military but after years of wait and continuous struggle democracy took root there.

When the interviewer asked if it meant he had no objection to the military leadership’s criticism of the civilian government’s style of governance, Asif said both the media and the judiciary too subjected the government to criticism.

“We can also say that the judiciary’s sphere of responsibility is to interpret the law and why it’s criticising governance. Then why only such a question is asked about the military? Statements often come from both the government and the military giving an impression of a cold war going on between the two.”

He said all the institutions, including the judiciary, the media and the military — played their role for achieving the national targets and “we respect all of them.”He said the military was discharging its duties as it was leading efforts for achieving the national goal.

He said other institutions i.e. parliament, the judiciary and politicians were also contributing in this regard and in such a situation it was irrelevant to discuss who was contributing how much compared to other. “The actual thing is that what is being achieved is through our joint efforts,” he added.To a question, Asif said basically the Cabinet Committee on Defence and the Apex Committee were similar institutions with different names.