Pakistan - Our goal is to balance civil-military relations in Pakistan: Sherry Rehman

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Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) vice president Sherry Rehman and central information secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira, talking to the media after an Iftar dinner at the Zardari House on Friday, said that the Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari remarks a few days ago were aimed at “former military personnel, not incumbent army chief General Raheel Sharif.”

“We have the highest respect for General Raheel,” said Sherry Rehman.

Kaira said the entire party stood by Zardari’s comments made at a party event a couple of days ago in Islamabad. Kaira went on to say that Zardari’s remarks should be understood in a “specific context since they pointed towards a defining line in Pakistan’s civil-military relations.”

Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the PPP desires harmony between all political forces and state institutions. He added that all parties were supporting the ongoing security operation in Karachi.

Kaira said that Zardari’s speech reflected the thoughts of all party members, and that nobody had asked the co-chairman to retract his statement.

He said that Zardari’s policy of reconciliation would continue and that this was also the party’s policy.
Sherry Rehman said the PPP was concerned with an imbalance in civil-military relations, adding that all party-bearers are of the opinion that state institutions should not overstep their mandate.

When asked whether Zardari had consulted party members before making the military-related remarks, both Rehman and Kaira said Zardari did not need to consult anyone to make comments at a local party event.

“[Pakistan] People’s Party is not defending corruption, let me make that very clear. We have always stood for rooting out terrorism and furthering democracy. Our goal is to balance civil-military relations in Pakistan,” said Sherry Rehman.

Both leaders said the PPP had fully supported the Karachi operation and also agreed to grant special powers to Rangers in Sindh, where the PPP has been ruling for more than seven years.

“Reconciliation is his defining character and all allied political parties urged him to continue his role as the ‘re-conciliator’,” Mr Kaira said.

Asked if Mr Zardari had been urged to take back his statements against the military establishment, he said that no such suggestion was floated during the meeting. “Nobody asked us to take back Mr Zardari’s statement,” he added.

Senator Sherry Rehman, however, clarified that Mr Zardari was not criticising the army and incumbent COAS Gen Raheel Sharif, but was referring to retired generals who imposed the worst kind of dictatorship in the country.

“We are not apologetic because we have talked about those retired generals who ran the worst dictatorships in the country and want to be on the political forefront even today,” she said.

Talking to media after the meeting, PPP leaders Qamar Zaman Kaira and Sherry Rehman told the media that the guests of the dinner admired the successes achieved by the Pakistan army. Kaira said that the PPP never made the situation worse and reconciliation has been the cornerstone of Asif Zardari’s politics.

Co-Chairman PPP Asif Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had a one-on-one meeting as well. Both the leaders discussed the political situation arising out of the recent speech by Asif Ali Zardari.