KARACHI: Former chairman of Senate Mian Raza Rabbani has said Prime Minister Imran Khan should ‘stop playing Russian roulette’ on the appointment of the director general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and take a decision.

In a statement issued on Friday, the senior leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) drew government’s attention towards the impact of delay and uncertainty on the issue.

“A state of uncertainty breeds inertia in an institution. In military institutions, evaluated, quick and firm decisions are the essence of command and success,” said Mr Rabbani.

The ex-chairman of the upper house of parliament said given the regional situation where Indian ministers were threatening with surgical strikes, Indian submarine attempted intrusion into Pakistani waters, [situation in] Afghanistan and increase in acts of terrorism in Waziristan, Pakistan could not afford uncertainty in the command structure of the Army. “As a consequence of this indecisive step, other command positions are on hold,” he pointed out.

The senior PPP leader said this was not a question of civilian authority as the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government had already ceded civilian space.

“After the death of the accountability narrative, the government is trying to build a new narrative based on civil-military relationship to be a fig leaf for the massive corruption and mis-governance,” he added.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2021