SIALKOT – Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who is considered a strong voice against the unconstitutional acts of the establishment, does not shy away from criticising even those very close to the top leadership of his own party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
On Saturday, Khawaja Asif lashed out at Najam Sethi, head of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s management committee, for claiming that the Taliban militants would attack only Pakistan’s security forces because of some broken promises and that there was no security threat to the ongoing cricket tournament, eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL8).
Sethi tweeted earlier in the day, “The TTP have said they will only target State Security Establishment because various ‘deals’ have broken down. There is no threat to PSL. It will go on.”
Sethi’s latest tweet came hours after militants attacked the Karachi Police Office (KPO) on Friday evening, killing four people, including three security personnel. However, the security forces killed all three militants and cleared the police headquarters within a few hours of the attack.
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Soon after the Karachi attack, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the bloody incident.
Reacting to Sethi’s tweet, Khawaja Asif said the PCB head was trying to justify terrorist attacks on the Pakistani security forces. In Sethi’s view, he said, the lives of Pakistani policemen and army personnel had no value and he was happy that there was no security threat to PSL matches, which are being played since February 13 and will continue until March 19.
The defence minister said the Pakistani elite cares only for their interests; national security and precious lives of security personnel are something disposable for them.
یہ شخص سٹیٹ سیکورٹی اسٹیبلشمنٹ کاموازنہPSL سے کر رہا ھے.کہنےکامطلب ھے سیکورٹی اسٹیبلشمنٹ پہ حملہ حلال ھےاور PSL پہ حرام. یہ ھماری فوج اور پولیس کی جانوں کوئ حرمت نہیں اطمینان ھے PSL محفوظ ھے.یہ ھےھماری اشرافیہ صرف اپنا مفاد عزیز ھےقومی سلامتی اور قیمتی جانیں ڈسپوزیبل ھیں pic.twitter.com/iBBgkzZRis
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) February 18, 2023
Sethi, a journalist and businessman, is considered very close to the PML-N top leadership. He was appointed acting chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) by the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 2017. Later, Sethi was unanimously elected chairman of the PCB in August 2017.
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Sethi resigned as PCB chairman after Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the 2018 general elections and formed its government. After removal of Imran Khan as prime minister and dismissal of the PTI government in April 2022, the PML-N formed its government with the help of its coalition partners.
In December 2022, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appointed Sethi the PCB head once again. He is currently working as head of the PCB’s Management Committee.