ISLAMABAD: Rana Sanaullah, Advisor to the Prime Minister on PoliticalAffairs, on Sunday categorically rejected the impression that PakistanMuslim League-Nawaz Quaid Nawaz Sharif was creating any hurdle in theissuance of the notification for the newly created post of Chief of DefenceForces, terming such reports “completely false and baseless”.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament House, the senior PML-N leadersaid the former prime minister had never expressed any reservation aboutthe Chief of Defence Forces position and that his recent remarks were beingdeliberately taken out of context. He emphasised that Nawaz Sharif’sconversation on the day in question had an entirely different backgroundand was not linked to the new military office.
“Nawaz Sharif has never uttered a single word against the CDF concept.Whatever constitutional amendments have been passed were done with hisapproval as party head,” Rana Sanaullah asserted. He accused certainquarters of unnecessarily dragging the PML-N supremo’s name into the matterto create confusion.
The advisor explained that there is a clear difference between somethingbeing under consideration and a final decision being taken. Various optionsremain under discussion at different times, but no conclusive statement canbe made until a formal decision is reached. He described the Chief ofDefence Forces as an extremely important institution that requires thoroughdeliberation.
“The notification should not and will not be issued in haste,” he declared,adding that all legal and procedural steps, including framing of rulesafter the law, would be completed with utmost care. Rana Sanaullah revealedthat the exact timing of the notification would be decided after PrimeMinister Shehbaz Sharif returns to the country and that the five-year termof the CDF would commence from the date of issuance.
He further clarified that the 27th Constitutional Amendment has settled thematter constitutionally and that the notification, once issued, wouldsimultaneously cover both the Army Chief and the Chief of Defence Forcespositions as envisaged in the new law.
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The strong rebuttal from the ruling party’s senior leader comes amidcirculating speculation in certain media and opposition circles that NawazSharif was reluctant to let the notification proceed swiftly. Politicalobservers believe the clarification is aimed at dispelling any perceptionof civil-military discord at a time when the government is moving aheadwith major structural reforms in the defence sector.
Source:www.geo.tv/latest/578943-nawaz-sharif-not-creating-hurdle-in-cdf-notification-issue-rana-sanaullah”>https://www.geo.tv/latest/578943-nawaz-sharif-not-creating-hurdle-in-cdf-notification-issue-rana-sanaullah
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