After a lengthy four hour meeting at General Headquarters, the Pakistan Army corps commanders came out with a statement "reaffirming support to democracy" and reiterating that the current stand-off between the PMLN led government and the PTI, PAT needed a political solution.
The meeting, which was headed by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif, saw the corps commanders reject "further use of force" in the crisis, an ISPR press release stated.
The commanders also expressed "serious concern" over the violent turn of events in the federal capital. "The Army remains committed to playing its part in ensuring security of the state and will never fall short of meeting national aspirations," the press release stated.
General Raheel Sharif took the commanders into confidence over his meetings with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, PTI Chief Imran Khan and PAT Chief Tahirul Qadri last week.
The critical meeting, which was scheduled to be held on Monday morning, was pushed up to today in light of rapidly unfolding events.
The situation in Islamabad took on critical proportions after the clashes began late on Saturday and led to at least three reported deaths and countless injuries by Sunday night.
The meeting of the army commanders has a serious bearing on the prevailing scenario, given the fact that the military had engaged in 'mediating' the crisis between the government and PAT, PTI.
The Army's message in support of the political process comes at a time when speculation is rife that the current crisis is being steered by, or has tacit approval from the powerful military establishment. The conclusions of the corps commanders meeting will, for the moment, help in allaying the PML-N led government's fears.
