Current state of affairs calls for strengthening civil-military ties: Ishaq Dar

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has called for strengthening ties between the civil and military leaderships for national stability in the light of country’s current state of affairs. “The country’s situation demands better civil-military ties,” Dar said in an interview. Speaking about the proposed constitutional amendments that remain a bone of contention between the political actors in the country, the deputy PM said that the agenda of constitutional reforms is not new as the Charter of Democracy was signed in 2006. The points pertaining to judicial reforms were a part of the charter, he added. Dar went on to say that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal’s Maulana Fazal Rehman also agreed to the Charter of Democracy back then. Moving on to the Centre’s efforts to woo the seasonal politician on the proposed constitutional package, the deputy PM said that the government agreed to Fazal’s stance by halting the consultations on the matter. Dar expressed his unawareness regarding Irfan Siddiqui’s announcement of a “final date” on the constitutional changes. The government has been pushing the proposed constitutional package amid speculation about a potential extension in the tenure of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, who is set to retire in October this year, following the PTI’s request last month for the early issuance of a notification regarding the appointment of the next top judge. The deputy PM further stated that no decision in the PML-N is taken without the permission or consent of party President Nawaz Sharif. “Even PM Shehbaz Sharif follows the directives of Nawaz.”