ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has urged Prime Minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to opt for a strategy that avoids violence and clashes, as the country cannot be pushed into turmoil.
According to a message delivered by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor Bajwa on Saturday, the army chief said that clashes were not in national interest and cohesion.
The COAS telephoned the prime minister and suggested to handle the Islamabad sit-in peacefully, avoiding violence from both sides. The development has come in after the federal government resorted to coercive methods to end the nearly 20-day-long sit-in in Faizabad area of the federal capital that has sparked countrywide tensions. Police and armed forces were called in by the provincial governments, including Chief Minister (CM) Shehbaz Sharif-led Punjab, to check protests and street violence. The operation launched Friday night resulted in one person’s death and caused injuries to more than 200, as some 2,000 protesters clashed with contingents of the police. The officers fired teargas and rubber bullets, retaliating to which the workers of religious parties hurled stones at them.
Published in Daily Times, November 26th 2017.
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