NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s army launched a no-holds-barred onslaught towards former premier Imran Khan on Thursday, accusing him and his supporters of maligning the military management and creating divisions inside the polity and the folks.
The Pakistan Military resorted to the weird step of fielding the Inter-Companies Intelligence (ISI) chief, Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, to temporary the media on the current killing in Kenya of journalist Arshad Sharif, who was perceived to be near Imran Khan.
The primary media briefing by an ISI chief, nevertheless, largely targeted on Khan’s more and more troubled relationship with the army following his ouster in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April.
The transfer got here a day forward of a deliberate “lengthy march” by Khan and his Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) occasion to press for early elections. Individuals conversant in the matter stated authorities in Islamabad had pulled out all of the stops to thwart Khan’s protest, together with using 1000’s of cargo containers to dam key roads and thoroughfares within the Pakistani capital.
Throughout the media briefing by the ISI chief and the chief army spokesman, Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar, the army alleged its management was being maligned for refusing to assist Khan by means of “unlawful and extra-constitutional means” when he confronted the belief vote within the Nationwide Meeting or decrease home of Parliament.
The ISI chief stated he was current when Pakistan Military chief Gen Qamar Bajwa was supplied and declined an “indefinite extension” in March. Although Anjum didn’t specify who made the supply, it was apparent he was referring to Imran Khan as his authorities was in energy on the time.
“You have to be stunned to see me right here right now…I’m right here as a result of my establishment (military) and company (ISI) are being maligned by means of lies. I couldn’t have remained silent anymore, particularly when there’s a menace of divisions due to one-sided lies,” Anjum stated, talking in a mixture of Urdu and English.
“I’ve come to interrupt the silence,” stated Anjum, who has stayed away from the media and the limelight since he turned the ISI chief final 12 months, not like his predecessors who had a comparatively larger profile.
Pakistan’s army has been grappling with harsh criticism from Imran Khan and different PTI leaders since he misplaced the vote of no-confidence. Khan, who loved the army’s unstinted help for greater than three years, even resorted to the weird step of calling on the military to not stay impartial within the present situation.
Nevertheless, each Anjum and Iftikhar stated the army was apolitical and a choice had been made by its high management to remain out of politics. The generals additionally derided Khan’s efforts to make use of a so-called secret diplomatic cable to make claims that the US was behind an alleged conspiracy to take away him and his authorities from energy.
Iftikhar stated: “Lies had been propagated and a story was crafted presenting the vote of no-confidence – a political, constitutional, and authorized matter – as regime change operation, apart from maligning the establishment.”
This was achieved to strain the military to resort to political intervention and “neutrality” was used as a euphemism to insult the military for staying away from politics, he added.
Anjum famous that such criticism was not as a result of the army dedicated treachery or did one thing unlawful and unconstitutional, but it surely was “as a result of we refused to take unlawful and extra-constitutional steps”.
He added that Bajwa, who is ready to retire subsequent month after finishing an prolonged time period in workplace, desires to go away as a legacy an establishment that’s apolitical.
The ISI chief additionally accused Khan of indulging in double-speak by “holding conferences with the army management behind closed doorways at night time and maligning them within the gentle of day”.
On Imran Khan’s lengthy march, Anjum stated the folks’s proper to protest was assured by the structure however political and financial instability is not going to be allowed. He stated safety forces will present safety for the lengthy march and can play their due function if the civilian authorities seeks their help.