Nawaz Sharif says he will be ‘Pak army chief’s boss’
7 May 2013 6:40 PM IST
Refusing to play second fiddle to the powerful military, former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said he will be the army chief’s ‘boss’ if voted back to power in the 11 May general elections.
A combative Sharif, whose party PML(N) is widely expected to form the next government in Pakistan capital, hinted that the current army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani would be replaced by the ‘senior most’ when he retires in November.
‘All I know is when I was a Prime Minister, the policies were being formulated by federal government, by the civilian head of the state and then of course executed by the institutions,’ Sharif said in an interview to an Indian news channel.
‘I want that to continue and I’m very clear on that, that everybody must remain in their respective domain,’ he said.
He was replying to a query if under his rule, the army would continue to control Pakistan’s relations with US, India besides security policies of the government.
Asked if that means the Prime Minister will be army chief’s boss, he said, ‘He is. The army is an attached department of the federal government and of course the chief of army staff works under the federal government and implements the policies of the federal government’.
Replying to a query if he would give an extension to Kayani, he said, ‘I don’t think he will ask any further extension.’
A combative Sharif, whose party PML(N) is widely expected to form the next government in Pakistan capital, hinted that the current army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani would be replaced by the ‘senior most’ when he retires in November.
‘All I know is when I was a Prime Minister, the policies were being formulated by federal government, by the civilian head of the state and then of course executed by the institutions,’ Sharif said in an interview to an Indian news channel.
‘I want that to continue and I’m very clear on that, that everybody must remain in their respective domain,’ he said.
He was replying to a query if under his rule, the army would continue to control Pakistan’s relations with US, India besides security policies of the government.
Asked if that means the Prime Minister will be army chief’s boss, he said, ‘He is. The army is an attached department of the federal government and of course the chief of army staff works under the federal government and implements the policies of the federal government’.
Replying to a query if he would give an extension to Kayani, he said, ‘I don’t think he will ask any further extension.’
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