Army chief enjoys support of govt, army, and entire nation: Nisar

ISLAMABAD: Ruling out the possibility of any conspiracy against Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said the COAS has the confidence of the government, armed forces and the entire nation.

Responding to a question about media reports regarding alleged involvement of some army officials in last year's sit he said that the Pakistan Army was a disciplined and highly professional force.

The minister said speaking against the army was harmful to the country and the military.

“It is not possible for few military officers to de-seat the army chief,” said Nisar.

The interior minister added that the nation should stand by the army chief as the army was the only institution that has achieved success in guerrilla war.

He went on to say that Gen Sharif has won the heart of every Pakistani in a year and a half.

Nisar further said that an official inquiry can be conducted into hate speeches against the army, however, only when it is felt needed, will an inquiry be carried out as the priority currently for the federal government is to solve issues rather than prolong them.

NADRA to establish DNA Lab

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of online renewal of Computerised National Identity Cards (CNIC), the minister said that better services are being introduced in National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) in the next six months.

He went on to say that now there is no need to come to NADRA office for renewal of identity cards as this facility is being provided online.

He further said a tracking system has been introduced in NADRA through which one can know the status of one's CNIC, adding that a citizen will have to come to the NADRA office for the first time acquiring of CNIC for biometric verification.

The interior minister also said that NADRA is going to establish a DNA laboratory in the next six months, which will facilitate all the law enforcement agencies to carry out investigation of cases. He added that the authority will introduce 13 next generation business centers of international standards to facilitate the masses in the next six to seven months.

Nisar also said that services of NADRA have improved a lot and thousands of fake identity cards have so far been blocked. He also wished to make NADRA a transparent and corruption free organization.

He added that, “We are going to centralise the entire data to end corruption and to ensure online verification of identity cards.”

He further said that NADRA has earned a profit of five billion rupees, adding that there was a backlog of 650,000, but now it has become zero within six months. He lauded the hard work of NADRA employees to end the backlog and to make the organisation a profitable institution.