Pakistan Army meddling in diplomatic affairs

In yet another example signifying that Pakistan's state affairs is controlled by the Army, its spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor poked his nose in diplomatic affairs which are normally handled by civilian governments.

Attempting to act as a spokesperson for the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, Ghafoor tweeted on Tuesday, "What good Indian High Commission is which can't stand with its Army Chief? Indian High Commission staff didn't have the moral courage to accompany fellow diplomats in Pakistan to LOC. However, a group of foreign diplomats & media is on the way to LOC to see the truth on ground."

Ironically, Ghafoor was making a statement in regard to India's artillery attacks on terror launchpads situated inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) opposite the Tangdhar sector along the LoC on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, which killed six to ten Pakistan soldiers, and an equal number of terrorists.

Instead of acknowledging the fact that terror camps are present on its soil, Pakistan has remained adamant and instead, took diplomats and foreign journalists to the site, as a "face-saving act".

This is not the first time that Islamabad has done this.

In February this year, India had bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camp in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and a large number of terrorists were killed. However, Pakistan rejected India's assertions and took foreign scribes to the site, in its attempt to fool the world by establishing a claim that no such airstrike took place in the region.

The Pakistan Army, which orchestrated a "soft coup" to oust former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has retained the "dominant influence" over foreign and security policies during Prime Minister Imran Khan's tenure, a US congressional report had said earlier this year.

This purported "military-judiciary nexus" allegedly came to favour Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, the report titled 'Pakistan Domestic Political Setting' by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) stated.

The military, which was engaged in three "outright seizures" of power from civilian-led governments, had colluded with the country's judiciary to overthrow the Pakistan Muslim League government led by Sharif, it said.

Imran Khan was elected to power last August in an election marred by violence and allegations of rigging.

Pakistan has a history of the Army taking power by usurping governments since the country gained freedom from Britain in 1947. Though Imran Khan is a pawn in their hands, they would not hesitate to gain control.