Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chastised PTI Chairman Imran Khan over his allegations against Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Asim Munir on Friday, saying that his immediate predecessor’s remarks were “yet another proof of his disgusting mentality against the Pakistan Army”.
The premier “strongly condemns” Imran’s levelling of allegations against the army chief, a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
While the statement did not specify which of Imran’s remarks the PM was referring to, it came out hours after the PTI chief said while speaking to a journalist at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that the “army is getting maligned” because of “just one man — the army chief” and “there is no democracy in the army”.
Speaking to foreign media, the PTI chief said, “You cannot have rule of law in Pakistan if there are sacred cows like politicians who do corruption and then went immunity, like the NRO, or you have a military that is above the law”.
He alleged that the military “picked him up from the high court” earlier this week.
In his statement, PM Shehbaz also referred to the incidents of violence and arson that took place during protests after Imran’s arrest at the IHC on May 9.
While the protests were under way, social media was flooded with footage of law enforcers firing tear gas and shelling at protesters, a mob clashing with police in Karachi, attacking and entering the army’s head office, General Headquarters, in Rawalpindi and vandalising the official residence of a high-ranking military officer in Lahore.
Imran’s statement is an “admission of [him] being the mastermind of the tragic incidents of May 9”, the PMO statement quoted the premier as saying.
He added that the mindset behind Imran’s recent allegations was the same that drove him to “falsely accuse patriotic army officers of his murder and spin false stories about cyphers and foreign conspiracies.
“This is an expression of enmity toward the country and the real ambitions of terrorists’ mastermind. The statement is an admission that all that happened on May 9 was carried out on Imran Niazi’s orders.
The premier said the remarks were proof that Imran planned the “desecration of martyrs’ graves and attacks on sensitive installations and buildings” during the protests.
He further said Imran’s issue with Gen Munir was that while serving as the Inter-Services Intelligence director general, he became aware of “corruption committed by Imran, his wife, Farah Gogi and the PTI’s senior leadership”.
Imran’s remarks against the “ highly decorated“ army chief, who is liked by rank and file, were “nothing but malice”, the premier said, adding that Imran was “scared” of the COAS.
He went on to say that such “vile” remarks against the commander of a brave army, which fought against terrorists, amounted to “backing terrorists”.
The premier ended his statement saying that the entire nation and armed forces were standing with the army chief.
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