If we cannot forget our differences and work together, if we throw mud, fight and bicker, the independence and sovereignty of the country and the nation will be endangered, said Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman.
He said, I have told you today, I am warning you, you cannot say later that I did not warn you. We want to live in peace and happiness that is what the army is working towards. Do not attack the army. We have not found it even today due to the hatred of some people towards us. Help us, not attack. If necessary, give us advice. If the advice is good, we will accept it. We want to be together, we want to take the country and the nation forward.
He said these things at the photo exhibition organized at Rawa Club on Tuesday (February 25) on the occasion of National Army Martyrs' Day.
The Army Chief said, let us be united without making any differences. If there is any difference, we will discuss and resolve it. There will be no benefit in going to the right or left. There is no exemption if someone commits a crime. This is a disciplined force, let it remain disciplined.
Waqar-uz-Zaman said, I have no other desire. My only desire is to leave the country and the nation in a beautiful place and return to the cantonment. I had enough; it was enough for seven-eight months.
Stating that there are several reasons behind the poor law and order situation in the country, the Army Chief said, first of all, we ourselves are busy in fighting, busy in angering each other. This is a wonderful opportunity for criminals. We are in an anarchic situation; they know that it is possible to get away with committing a crime at this time. That is why these crimes are happening. If we are organized, united, then it is possible to deal with these.
He also said, Police, RAB, BGB, DGFI, NSI have done very important work for the country in the past. Along with the bad deeds, many good deeds have been done. The reason why the country has been kept stable for so many years is that the armed forces members and civilians have kept the organizations effective. That is why we have got a beautiful environment. If anyone commits a crime, he will be punished. He must be punished. Otherwise, this thing will happen again.
He said, today the police are not working. The reason is that there are cases against many. Many are in jail. RAB, DGFI, BGB, NSI are panicking today. Investigations into various allegations of disappearances and murders are going on. Of course, there will be an investigation; the guilty must be brought to justice. The work must be done in such a way that these organizations are not undermined. If you think that peace and order will prevail in the country and everyone will be in peace by undermining these organizations - that is not possible; I am telling you this clearly. The responsibility of maintaining peace and order in this country is not only the army's alone, there are 200,000 police in this country, there is BGB, there is RAB, there is Ansar VDP. We have 30,000 soldiers, a huge void, how can I fulfill that with 30,000 soldiers? The disorderly work that has taken place here is of our own making. If we do the opposite, peace and order will never return to the country.
Waqar-uz-Zaman said, we are heading towards elections, the government will do the reforms that are needed before that. Every time I have spoken to Dr. Yunus, he has spoken about free and fair elections and that by December. I first spoke about 18 months. It seems that the government is heading towards that. Dr. Yunus is trying his best to keep the country united. We will cooperate with him. There may be differences of opinion and disagreement among us, but at the end of the day, we can all be one by thinking about the country and the nation.
Regarding the Peelkhana massacre, the army chief said, "The army personnel are not responsible for this barbarity. The then BDR members are fully responsible for it. Do not sabotage the judicial process. Those who have been punished deserve to be punished. A commission has been formed to find out whether politicians and outsiders were involved, and the commission will investigate and report."