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Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch on Saturday said if former army chief Gen Raheel Sharif accepts the appointment as head of a 39-nation military alliance of Muslim states he will become controversial.
“If Raheel Sharif takes up the appointment, he will become controversial and I feel it might lessen the respect he has earned,” said Baloch while speaking on DawnNews Doosra Rukh.
Baloch said he has had a good relations with Sharif as he served as Baloch’s chief of staff when he was a corps commander.
“For us he has become a source of pride and we would never want his reputation to suffer,” added the minister for states and frontier regions.
Baloch also expressed concern and said the appointment as head of the alliance will not have the same chances of success as in the Pakistan Army as it will be a “hop scotch alliance and we do not know what the system will be”.
Earlier, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the government had given its green signal for Sharif to take charge as head of the military alliance of Muslim states.
However, the minister said official procedures have not yet been completed in this regard.
The headquarters of the military alliance would be based in Riyadh.
Pakistan had initially found itself in the crosshairs of Middle Eastern politics as Saudi Arabia named it as part of its newly formed military alliance of Muslim countries meant to combat terrorism, without first getting its consent.
However, after initial ambiguity, the government had confirmed its participation in the alliance, but had said that the scope of its participation would be defined after Riyadh shared the details of the coalition it was assembling.
The coalition was envisaged to serve as a platform for security cooperation, including provision of training, equipment and troops, and involvement of religious scholars for dealing with extremism.
The Saudi government had surprised many countries by announcing that it had forged a coalition for coordinating and supporting military operations against terrorism in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan.
Iran, Saudi Arabia's archrival for influence in the Arab world, was absent from the states named as participants, as proxy conflicts between the two regional powers rage from Syria to Yemen.
Comments (75)
everything tht is or were the pride, is now controversial, so no bummer
Thank u Lt Gen (R) Abdul Qadir correctly said. truth is that Gen Raheel should stay away this controversial post.
Raheel Sharif is the Chief of Armed forces for a military alliance if 39 Muslim countries. Pakistan is a great nation always stands with their muslim brothers
Pakistan takes good care of its Army officers, specially the Generals for them to live an upscale life in retirement - No reason to work for foreign governments. General Raheel should remain in Pakistan and should continue to serve the motherland in an advisory capacity.
In Pakistan everything is controversial. So Raheel Sharif does not need to worry. If Raheel Sharif will act as a professional General and will end the menace of Terrorism from the the Middle East, then he will be a source of pride for us. Secondly in my view he should hire atleast 50,000 soldiers and many Officers from Pakistan. In this manner we will be able to secure thousands of highpaid jobs for our countrymen.
Qadir Baluch is saying this on behalf of his masters.He should better advise his master Nawaz Sharif not to give the permission to Raheel Shareef.
Heading a 39- nations forces for peace,harmony,detente,deterrence,is in fact great honour for Pakistan. Let's hope optimism.
Very right Baluch sb
He speaks like he is an expert. what are his qualifications?
A wise advice, General Sharif should listen to.
Not Agree with Gen Abdul qadir Baloch.Govt had taken right decision.Saudia always stand by Pakistan.
Seems like they need a decision maker and that's Raheel Sharif. He is probably the only one who has a deeper understanding of the alliance and it's role.
I hope he'll make the umaah United. He's a sensible and intellectual person. He'll make Pakistan proud. May he live long.
Professional Jealousy
He should take the job and unite Muslim forces so they can take charge of their own affairs rather let outsiders to intervene negatively
Its an alliance by KSA in which Iran and Iran's supporters are not included ! Tough roads ahead for Pakistan if she leads symbolically (real planners are Saud)
v gooooood! mr blooch
Absolutely correct !
No Pakistani general should be in service of a foreign country.
Couldn't agree more
Indeed true!
When you ignore your nearby neighbor(Iran) for the sake of Saudi "alliance". Don't expect much cooperation regionally.Iran will obviously get closer to India joining Afghanistan,Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.Saudi countries will obviously be friendly with India for economic reasons.
This a military alliance to safegaurd the monarchy of Saudi Arabia. Any attempt by the masses of Suadi Arabia will be called an act of terrorism and this military force of this alliance will be used to put it doen. This is fraud.
If he brings some thing very good out of this 39 state alliance, so why to make hue and cry about his appointment. Before being appointed as general, same things were circulated of him being incompetent. So let's watch and give him a chance. Hope for good things in future
being the best amongst 39 countries and leading them is an honor, I think.
Raheel Sharif has the right to secure his post retirement life.
Gen Raheel will do good for the coalition. Proud day for pakistan. He will not allow actions against Iran.
@Dil Dil Pakistan 39000 Pakistanis were deported and 8 beheaded for peddling drugs in Saudi Arabia.
Gen Abdul QADIR baloch, you have to draw line somewhere, you can't please everybody. 95% of the Ummah will be happy and benefit from his appointment. So don't worry about the five percent. Your concern is not broad based. Every decision always has somewhat of this dimension. Gen Raheel is an able and respected soldier, he best qualified for this job that will also be an honour for Pakistan.
It may be his personal view, Gen. Raheel Sharif taking charge of the proposed military alliance is a welcome action and will proud Pakistan.
Raheel Sharif will become more important and famous.
Raheel sharif should lead the Islamic alliance but not where Saudis are involved as they are ruining one sided interest .
This is a great honour for pakistan and General Raheel Sharif and this can work for pakistan if played carefully. We should not lose this opportunity and try to forge unity among the muslim countries especially try to bring Riyadh and Iran closer. I am sure our enemies in the neighbourhood will be jealous and worried.
Out of 3 main neighbours, two are are already enemies of Pak. Becoming part of any Saudi led agenda, for good or bad, will make Iran, the last remaining neighbour mad. Alas, we never learn to mind our own business. You can choose your friends, not your neighbours.
Mr. Baloch is right in what he is saying
It's honour for Pakistan that he will command this force
Gen. Raheel is going to diminish his stature in the eyes of Pakistani public with this engagement.
If even his peers have reservations about the Saudi intentions, than it would be folly for Pakistani government to let Gen. Raheel be used for nefarious purposes by our Saudi 'brothers'. I don't consider them to be even our friends.
A man with any conscience will not associate himself with anyone with blood of innocents on their hands.
We all have to be answerable for our deeds, here in this world and in the hereafter.
@Abbas syed: That's right.
Gen. Raheel is a highly respected, experienced and a professional soldier. At the first whiff of something fishy in the Saudi designs in Yemen or elsewhere, I expect him to gracefully bow out, rather than be implicated in something that will tarnish his image or does not sit well with his professionalism or conscience.
Some things can be bought with money. Some things cannot be bought with all the money in the world. What goes around, comes around. Let the Saudi's enjoy good times, while the commit atrocities against their poor Muslim neighbors.
Running the hare and hunting with the hounds ?What about the NOC? Controversial or not its not his worry .
The government should be bold enough to tell the general and the Saudi Arabia that this is not happening. They are muddying the waters...on the one hand they are saying they agree to it in principle and on the other they are casting doubts. This double game will only harm PMLN.
@msadiq where you got your 95%
Working in a non merit-based system, and interacting with other half-wits in a corruption-laden environment, the ability of even bright senior officials in Pakistan get rusted. And taking on something out of the routine gives them fright because of their feeling inadequate. And this may be behind objections to Gen. Raheel Sharif acceptance to head the 39-country Muslim alliance.
I think Gen. Raheel's conditions that he should have authority to negotiate between different states and allowed to invite others to join the alliance should have removed worries of people who feared him becoming head of a purely Sunni force, while having the biggest Shia state Iran as our neighbour and substantial Shia population in the country.
Being the strongest militarily and the only nuclear power in the Muslim world, Pakistan did the right thing to encourage Gen. Raheel to step forward and work towards ending this Shia-Sunni rivalry by ensuring security of all states, big or small.
Karachi
no , on the contrary , once the role of this alliance is established then only can you say what the effects are going to be, he will do well as long as he does and says what he feels , walk away when he is being used, on the other hand we are playing with the arabs who should be isolated rather than iran,
I completely agree with the author. This is a real test for Raheel Sharif to demonstrate his integrity and prevent our nation's honor.
Very bad decision!!! Pakistan needs to focus on removing sectarianism and terrorism from our country. Even in retirement, Gen. Raheel Sharif needs to stay away from any move that hurts Pakistan. This decision puts us in the middle of the Saudi-Iranian sectarian mess of killing innocent Muslims.
Thise who failed to make a positive change them sleves are not speaking up against those who were successful. So typical. I support Gen Raheel Sharif 200%. He is our hero!
Stop playing ethnic politics,you could have justified your stance,Had you declared his post "controvrsial"if he being involved in Ethnic conflict between saudis and Iranis....YOU SHOULD BETTER FOCUS ON YOUR JOB FIRST,WHICH COULD BE CONTROVERSIAL,THE WAY YOU ARE PERFORMING!!!!
One very sane, sound and proud voice emanating from the crowd of ruling and ruled wilderness known as government of Pakistan. Thank you Mr. Balouch
Lame remarks by the Federal Minister. There are more reasons to expect good coming out of Gen Raheel leading the coalition, rather than any one else. Gen Raheel will maintain Pakistan's pride, no doubt about it, inshaAllah.
and we thought Pakistan had enough of KSA. Good news for India ,nonetheless. Iran is definitely gonna be a key player now.
@S.R.H. Hashmi I sincerely wish your dream come true instead of the horrible nightmare that it seems to be for the future of regional peace & domestic sectarian harmony. In my opinion, it is a decision that is going to cost very dearly to Pakistan.
@Yasoob what 5% are you thinking about !
Commander of Muslim nations, with the absence of Iran and HQ in Riyadh that would be very controversial indeed! Our National hero should stay well clear of such an appointment!
@taha Common sense doesn't need any qualifications.
@taha yes hes an expert and ex general and has lead baloch regiment in which raheel sharif was under him what a joke you are
Raheel Shareef and Pakistan should stay away from this so called coalition which infact is turning out to be an anti shia coalition. General Raheel Shareef joins it, he may well go from hero to zero. This is not in our interest
@Sara ...Now we are standing against those who are opposing Israel.
It is obvious that this so-called 'Islamic Military Alliance' initiated by Saudi Arabia is not intended to combat terrorism, but rather it is intended to strengthen Saudi Arabia in its rivalry with Iran. Consequently nothing good can come out of it. It would have been better for Saudi Arabia to spend all these billions of oil-dollars on the peaceful development of Muslim nations instead of for the destruction of Yemen and Syria...
I agree 100% that Gen Raheel should not lead until all Muslim nations are welcome to join the force including Iran otherwise it's a Saudi business. Remember PIA helped Emirates and Gulf airlines and few others and now they are doing extremely well and PIA is in trouble so we cannot afford that to happen to our Army.
Agreed, Raheel should retire and stay in Pakistan, that is best for him and Pakistan. He has done his duty, and now let a Saudi run the Saudi forces, not a Pakistani. Do not get involved in this game.
@Sara "Raheel Sharif is the Chief of Armed forces for a military alliance if 39 Muslim countries. Pakistan is a great nation always stands with their muslim brothers" You have mixed up two things Pakistan has already rejected this so-called alliance secondly becoming partner of such allaince and killing fellow Muslims in Yemen and Bahrain does not count as standing with Muslim brothers please first clear your mind either you are supporter of Muslim unity or preserver of despotic monarchies, which is the main function of this alliance
As always, people are flocking over a decision a man made for whats best for him and his family, General Raheel served his country for decades, he left with his head held high. This is a new life for him that he has chosen, he is a smart guy, why can't we just be proud of him? instead of criticizing him. You wouldn't want that if you made a similar decision, would you?
It's funny how little the world knows of this 39- nation military alliance and its objectives. Saudi Arabia cannot handle the Houthis in Yemen, its aspirations of eradicating terrorism beyond GCC is ludicrous.
Two contradicting statements by two ministers of the same government !
Total nonsense ! It's a great honor and recognition of Pakistsn's credibility and strength !
Under the guise of speculation, Gen Reheel Sharif might become controversial, whether he becomes or not only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, it is PML-N desperately trying trying to make him controversial. Gen Reheel is a bold, resolute, highly intelligent, honest and upright person, he has a shinning and proven track record, one of the best COAS Pakistan has ever had.
Dear Mr. Abdul Qadir,
Dont worry about Raheel Sharif's reputation. He earned it in Pakistan. No one gave it to him. He can earn it with his performance at his new post in the Middle East. PML N is dragging its heals for personal reasons.
Who are you or anyone in the PML N to decide what Raheel can or cannot do.
It is his decision to make.
@Yasir Pakistan already has relations with the Saudi and Iran. Pakistan can maintain relations with both. Iran has to understand it is not one or the other. Iran alredy has relations with India and has given India a sea port where they can place their Nay in Wat time. So much for Iran
Its a great honor for the country and the command will be held by the most capable General. We are with you General Shareef.
@Dil Dil Pakistan
Not Agree with Gen Abdul qadir Baloch.Govt had taken right decision.Saudia always stand by Pakistan
you said Saudi brought terrorism to Pakistan as well.
@Somaya because they broke the laws. Nothing to do with bilateral relations what's your point?
@Khan USA "Two contradicting statements by two ministers of the same government !" Five ministers are capable of making ten contradictory statements. Don't worry about them.