General Bajwa offered life-long extension in service: ISI chief

Rawalpindi.(Mudassar Chuhdary)_Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt-General Nadeem Anjum has revealed that Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was offered ling-long extension in service in March this year but he declined it,.

Addressing a joint press conference with ISPR Director General Lt-General Babar Iftikhar in Rawalpindi on Thursday, the ISI chief disclosed “I am eyewitness to the life-long offer as it was made in my presence but the army chief rejected it on the spot.”

The ISI chief said he knew that journalists were surprised to see him in their midst but remaining silent at a time when chaos and anarchy was feared in the country was not good.

He said his policy was clear that he did not want any publicity. He expressed the resolve to continue to defend his institution and martyrs of the country’s armed forces.

He went on to say that in March, 2022, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had been offered extension for an indefinite time period.

ISPR director general on Arshad Sharif’s murder

ISPR Director General Lt-General Babar Iftikhar has said that the Arshad Sharif’s killing was a tragedy as he was an icon of journalism in Pakistan.

While addressing the press conference, the military spokesman said that it was necessary to unearth the facts related to the death of Arshad Sharif because baseless allegations were made against the institutions, its leadership and the Army Chief.

At the outset of his press conference, Babar Iftikhar said the purpose of today’s media talk was to shed light on the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya and the circumstances surrounding it.

This press conference is being held in the context of presenting facts so that “facts, fiction and opinion can be differentiated”, Babar Iftikhar said, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had been “specially informed” about the sensitivity of the new conference.

Besides, it was imperative to determine the factors due to which a particular narrative was being built and people were being misled, he said, adding “The chief of army staff was also targeted and faced criticism. An attempt was made to create a split in the society.”

The ISPR chief said that Arshad Sharif’s death was an “unfortunate incident” and called him an “icon of journalism in Pakistan”. He noted that members of the late journalist’s family had served in the Army, adding that he always felt the pain of martyred officers.