RAWALPINDI, June 1: Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal has refuted allegations levelled by Ms Ayesha Siddiqa in her recently launched book Military Inc: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy.

In a statement, the minister said the book reflected the hidden agenda and vested interests of the writer, adding that it contained distortion of facts, conjectures and personal bias which were misleading in nature.

The statement said: “The armed forces are a very important and responsible institution of the state which functions within a well-established and regulated mechanism under the Ministry of Defence. It is an institution which has rendered untold sacrifices and served the country with selflessness, dedication and commitment.

“It is unfortunate and a source of great concern that there is a deliberate attempt to tarnish its image and undermine its institutional strength through events like the so-called seminar on the premises of the Supreme Court and publishing of the book based on un-researched false material.”

The minister said like other institutions and establishments in the country, the armed forces had a very robust and strong welfare system. “It not only looks after welfare of its personnel but contributes greatly to national development.”

Organisations like Fauji Foundation, Army Welfare Trust, Shaheen Foundation and Bahria Foundation, he said, were success stories.

He referred to contributions of such organisations and said that the Fauji Foundation gave employment to more than 7,000 civilians, 60 per cent of the total employment, the remaining 40 per cent being retired military personnel (80 per cent of whom were sepoys and junior commissioned officers). The foundation, he added, contributed Rs33 billion in taxes to the federal government each year.

Similarly, AWT is a welfare organisation which provides employment to 11,000 people, 7000 of them civilians. Bahria Foundation employs 76 retired naval officers and 231 retired personnel of the navy. In addition, 3,222 civilians are also employed.

The minister also said that there was no discrimination in the army on account of awards and all ranks got equal benefits as per rules and regulations laid down by the government of Pakistan.—PPI