Bajwa doctrine's scope limited to security measures: Pak Army

Pakistan Army said today that Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa was not against the 18th amendment but simply wants to ensure the provinces are capable of making the decisions as it clarified that if a 'Bajwa doctrine' exists its scope is limited to security measures only.

The landmark 18th amendment that has lent greater autonomy to the provinces was passed unanimously by parliament with all major political parties on board.

"Every army chief has their own perspective and General Bajwa's is to promote peace which existed in the past. That is what the Bajwa doctrine is," Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said while addressing a press conference.

Gen Bajwa recently met a group of journalists and explained his doctrine which was being seen as a template for bringing peace and security to Pakistan and the region.

Ghafoor said the army chief's views in his informal meeting with journalists may have been misrepresented by some.

"There was a lot of talk about the 18th Amendment," he said. "The army chief never said that as a whole 18th Amendment is not good; amendments are brought because the Constitution remained incomplete in certain aspects."

Ghafoor said that the army supports empowerment of provinces and rejected the idea that Gen Bajwa expressed desire to undo delegation of powers to province by the previous government.

He also said that Pakistan was committed to complete multi-billion dollars China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which will benefit the entire region.

"We wish for CPEC to be successful. It will bring prosperity to the whole region. If India sees it as a threat, it (such thinking) will negatively affect the region. If our contributions are seen as negative, this will affect the region's stability," he said.

Ghafoor said Pakistan was sending troops to Saudi Arabia under the bilateral security agreement of 1982 to help in "training and advise" the Saudi government to maintain internal stability.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)