Govt, military 'on same page' regarding DG ISI's appointment: PM

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said that the government and the military are "on the same page" on the matter of the appointment of the Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), sources told Geo News.

His remarks came during a meeting of the federal cabinet during which the matter of the appointment  came up, the sources said.

According to the sources, the prime minister took the cabinet members into confidence over the issue.

They said that the premier told them that there have been attempts to give the matter the wrong spin on the media.

PM Imran Khan assured the cabinet that all the people concerned "are on the same page" and that the appointment will be finalised "amicably".

'Govt, military share ideal relationship'

Later in the day addressing a post-cabinet press briefing in Islamabad, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry confirmed that during the meeting, the issue of the appointment of the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (DG ISI) was also discussed.

"A long meeting took place between PM Imran Khan and the army chief last night," Chaudhry said, adding that the government shares "an ideal relationship with the military."

"The Prime Minister Office will not take any step that will tarnish the reputation of the army and the sipah salar (army chief), and neither will the army or its chief take any step that will damage the civilian setup," he said.

The information minister said the prime minister and the army chief "share a good working relationship", and both sides are on the same page regarding the appointment of the DG ISI.

"Any appointments that we make are after consultation, and we always fulfil all legal requirements [...] the new DG ISI's appointment will also be made after fulfiling all legal critera," he said.

'Meeting between army chief, PM will put an end to speculations'

Meanwhile, Director News Geo News Rana Jawad said speculation was rife on social media after the prime minister did not issue a notification for the appointment of the DG ISI, which gave the impression that there were differences between the chief of army staff and prime minister's office.

The senior journalist said the 90-minute meeting, which took between the prime minister and Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, would now put an end to such speculations.

Jawad added that Chaudhry clarified that the matter would be resolved in the coming days.

The senior journalist said due to speculations, market indicators were dismal, the stock market was affected, and there was a lot of discussion on the matter in political circles.

He noted that the information minister addressed the speculations and termed them "false", and that the prime minister would not take any step without consulting the military.