ISLAMABAD: Army generals are still upset for having been “unfairly criticised” by federal ministers.
The seething resentment in the military ranks was obvious as generals met for the corps commanders’ conference at the General Headquarters on Wednesday.
Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, who presided over the meeting, had earlier in the week publicly stated the concerns when he told peeved Special Services soldiers in Tarbela that army “will resolutely preserve its own dignity and institutional pride”.
Gen Raheel’s statement had effectively blown away the façade of civilian and military leadership being on the same page.
Although not stated in so many words and masked as “unfair criticism”, the anger is because of former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf’s trial on charges of high treason and what is being seen as his public humiliation by some ministers.
The generals are also said to be displeased with the manner in which the government has proceeded with the peace dialogue despite their reservations.
According to an officer who witnessed the proceedings of the Corps Commanders Conference, the intensity of the feelings on the issue remained high.
“The situation can be addressed only once there is realisation….,” a source said, indicating that commanders were finding the government indifferent to their complaints.
Unlike the media release on Gen Raheel’s comments in Tarbela, the matter was not reflected in the statement on the meeting at GHQ.
The army chief was quoted in the ISPR release as having commended his ‘men’ for their work despite “serious security and administrative challenges”.
He made these comments while reviewing the military deployments across the country on security, development and rehabilitation works in different parts of the country.
An ISPR spokesman said the corps commanders’ conference “undertook a comprehensive review of the prevailing external and internal security situation, especially along the Western border”.
“The issue of drawdown of Isaf from Afghanistan with its concomitant implications on the security situation along the bordering region was also discussed,” he said.