'PM Khan, COAS Gen Bajwa settle every issue together through consultation'

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa "settle every issue together through consultation".

"The same mechanism was adopted on the matter of the appointment of ISI DG,” Chaudhry said while speaking during a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday.

The minister said that "the ambiguity regarding the appointment has been cleared".

"The decision regarding the appointment of the director-general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) will be made in an atmosphere of trust".

“PM Imran Khan said that civil-military relations have never been as good in the entire history of the country as they are now,” said Chaudhry.

He said that the premier gave the credit for this to the Army Chief Gen Bajwa who has “always lent institutional support to the democracy and civil leadership”.

He said that the premier said that the honour and the dignity of the army are dear to the entire country.

The minister said that the DG ISI will be appointed "soon" with the process already "underway".

Briefing the media about the matters discussed in the meeting, Chaudhry said that Afghanistan remained the focus of discussions.

He said that PM Imran Khan took the parliamentarian party members into confidence over the situation in the neighbouring country.

“Currently, Pakistan’s stance is that we shouldn’t abandon Afghanistan in this situation and assistance for it on humanitarian grounds must continue,” said Chaudhry

“We are helping our Afghan brothers and want that the entire world to help the Afghans.”

He said that Pakistan relaxed visa conditions for Afghans and increased bilateral trade.

The international community should also put its effort into maintaining stability in Afghanistan, he added.

Chaudhry said that PM Imran Khan also talked about inflation and said the increase in international prices is the reason behind the recent surge in inflation in Pakistan.

The minister said that the international price for petrol, which was earlier at $40 per litre has now crossed $80.

Chaudhry said that the government has framed a new economic policy to deal with the issue of inflation.

The minister announced that the government is going to launch three big projects in the month of November — Sehat Card, Kisan Card and Ehsas Card.

“The Sehat Card has been distributed in the entire province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and now it is Punjab’s turn,” said Chaudhry.