The Ex-Servicemen Association (ESA) has decided it would participate in Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz backed long march planned by lawyers' community on March 9 for the reinstatement of sacked judges.
The decision was taken at 'Difa-e-Pakistan (Pakistan's Defence)' held in Rawalpindi on Sunday. The conference discussed at length the threats being faced by the country. The ESA decision would further strengthen the lawyers' long march and it could further push the government in tight corner, as it has not so far been able to convince the PML (N) on not joining the long march.
Speaking at the conference, former Inter-Services Intelligence Chief Hameed Gul said India couldn't dare to attack Pakistan. India will never use option like surgical strikes. India and US want to wipe out Pakistan's nuclear capability, he warned. However, he said that India's presence in Afghanistan has created a lot of troubles for Pakistan. India is involved in Swat violence, he alleged.
He further said that US, despite all its efforts, has failed to crush the ongoing resistance in Afghanistan. A stiff resistance is being given to the US troops. There is a kind of ambiguity whether al Qaeda supported this resistance. He accused that India and Israel were hatching conspiracies against Pakistan. The country is facing serious challenges on western as well as eastern borders. The challenges are manifolds and there is a need of strict vigil, he added.
Hameed Gul said that since India had strengthened its infrastructure in Afghanistan, therefore, Pakistan must keep a strict vigil on India. Taliban stiff resistance to coalition forces in Afghanistan is prime source of concern for the US. That is the main reason that Washington and other developed countries make hue and cry against Pakistan.
Apart from ex-military men, the conference was also attended by political leaders including Khwaja Asif of the PML (N), Mushahid Hussain Syed of the PML (Q) and others. Former chief of army staff General Aslam Beg, Air Marshal Asghar Khan (retd) and others were also spoke on the occasion.