Official Blog Of Press Information Department

Courtesy:- MALIK MUHAMMAD ASHRAF The events of the last week in Islamabad including the blocking of prison vans by PTI workers and MNAs at the court premises, securing the release of PTI workers from police custody forcefully by Imran Khan, and the spate of threats hurled at the government by both leaders to bring about a bloody revolution in the country, are indicative of the frustration and disappointment that they feel at the failure of their attempt to find a shortcut to the corridors of power through unconstitutional means. By prolonging their sit-ins and continuing their lacklustre blustering, they are in fact reinforcing their failures.

Courtesy:- Feisal Naqvi As I write this column, the streets of Islamabad are still occupied by supporters of Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri. And both leaders are still occupying their respective containers.  But assume for a minute that this storm too will pass, that battered and bruised as it is, parliamentary democracy in Pakistan will survive to fight another day. Does that mean we can (or should) forget about what the container-wallahs are saying? Well, the answer is yes and no. Imran Khan’s main argument is that the current parliament is illegitimate because it is the product of rigged elections. That argument is rubbish.

Courtesy:-  Malik Muhammad Ashraf The DG ISPR has finally come up with a categorical denial of any nexus between the dharnas and the army and said that it only facilitated the commencement of dialogue between the government and the protesting outfits, reiterating that the army stood for democracy and constitution.  This clarification actually should have come much earlier. But, as they say, it is never too late. The haze stands cleared. However, a proper probe to find out the truth and initiating action against the elements who orchestrated this campaign against the army at a time when it needed unqualified backing of the entire nation for its fight against the terrorists would be justified. The media also needs to show better professional judgment in reporting about the issue.   It is really regrettable that ever since the launch of the marches, a deliberate attempt has been made to soil the image of the army by creating the impression that the present crisis was chor...

Courtesy:-  GEN (R) MIRZA ASLAM BEG During the last fifty years, various Pakistani regimes have used the Army with impunity to control political dissent in various areas of the country. There are ten such instances where the Army re-established control over the areas, but the governments failed to establish their writ, with the result that these regions have gradually slipped into disorder. Balochistan is one such example, where the Army launched five operations, but civil administration never established administrative control. The areas of Swat, Dir, Bajaur, Waziristan and Balochistan, more or less, have been under the Army’s control ever since.

Courtesy:-   S M Hali Security concerns emanating from the three weeks long protest rallies, sit-ins, bitter squabbling amongst politicians and constant power struggles forced the postponement of the Chinese president’s visit Chinese President Xi Jinping is planning to undertake his first tour of South Asia after taking over as president. He was expected to make Islamabad his first port of call, followed by visits to New Delhi and Colombo. Xi will be the first Chinese president to visit Sri Lanka, part of the proposed Maritime Silk Road project and other important ventures. In keeping with traditional Chinese diplomacy, where high level sojourns are kept under wraps, the visit was not formally announced but the Chinese foreign ministry invited four senior journalists from Pakistan and three from Sri Lanka to Beijing for a briefing while a media group from India was to visit later.

Courtesy:-   Malik Muhammad Ashraf The downside of conspiracies is that they ultimately reveal themselves, no matter how skilfully and cleverly their architects try to camouflage them. Similarly the beauty of the truth is that it invariably has the last laugh. The circumstantial evidence ferreted out by the media ever since Qadri and Imran Khan met in London in the first week of June and revelations by Javed Hashmi and Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s brother regarding who might actually have orchestrated and sponsored the Azadi and Revolution marches, are the ranting endorsements of the maxim that evil can never be kept under wraps.