Pakistan Army rules out leaning towards any political party

Rawalpindi, April 25 (IANS) In his maiden press conference after assuming the post of Director-General (DG) of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Tuesday reiterated the armys stance that it does not have a leaning towards any political party or ideology, a media report said."The Pakistan Army is a national army. All political parties are respectable for us [...] but we do not lean towards any political party or ideology," the ISPR DG said while addressing the presser at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, Geo News reported.The army's spokespersons have repeatedly denied that the military is leaning towards anyone as political parties blame each other for having the establishment's backing."If any army was used to further a specific political ideology anywhere in the world, it led to anarchy," the ISPR DG said, as he called upon Pakistan's political leadership to support the military's professional thinking, Geo News reported.The ISPR DG added that the government and the military have constitutional and non-political ties — a stance that the army has long stood by. "This non-political relationship should not be given a political colour."In response to a question, Chaudhry said the Ministry of Defence had already given a briefing to the Supreme Court regarding the deployment of troops for elections, which was based on "ground realities".With several retired army men supporting Imran Khan's PTI, the ISPR DG said that the veterans' organisations should not become political as their purpose is to ensure veterans' welfare and highlight their issues, Geo News reported.
--IANS san/arm

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