-ISPR says Army is at aghast over Imran’s defamatory statement against Military’s senior leadership
-Unfortunate, disappointing, DG ISPR says on making Army Chief appointment controversial
-Clarifies senior Army leadership’s patriotic credentials beyond any doubt
-PTI responds to Army’s displeasure over controversial statement
By Our Defence
Correspondent
RAWALPINDI: The Pakistani Army Monday expressed displeasure over PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s recent statement against the military and said it was “aghast” over it.
In a public rally in Faisalabad, the PTI chairman called out the government, saying that it was delaying the elections to appoint an army chief of its own and that if a “patriotic chief of army staff comes in, he will not spare the incumbent rulers.”
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), in a statement, said that the army was “aghast” at the defamatory and uncalled-for statements about the senior leadership of the military by the PTI chairman during a Faisalabad rally.
The military’s media wing said that regrettably, an attempt was made to discredit and undermine the senior leadership of the army at a time when the institution was laying lives for the “security and safety of the people every day”. The army said that senior politicians trying to stir controversies over the appointment of the COAS, the procedure for which is well-defined in the Constitution, is “most unfortunate and disappointing”.
The ISPR said the senior leadership of the army has decades-long impeccable and meritorious service to prove its “patriotic and professional credentials beyond any doubt”.
Politicising the senior leadership of the Pakistan Army and scandalising the process of selection of the COAS is neither in the interest of the state of Pakistan nor of the institution, it noted.
“Pakistan Army reiterates its commitment to uphold[ing] the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” the military’s media wing added.
Following the Pakistan Army’s anger over anti-military remarks issued by PTI Chairman Imran Khan, the party’s secretary-general Asad Umar responded to the army and said that the statement did not mean to cause any harm to the institution.
Taking to Twitter, the former planning minister said that the context of Khan’s statement Sunday regarding the appointment of COAS has already been clarified earlier.
“There was never an intent to cause harm to the reputation of the institution or its senior leadership,” he added. The former minister said that the party and its chairman have always appreciated the “professionalism and sacrifices” of the army personnel.
“The emphasis on upholding the principle of merit is consistent with the desire to protect the professionalism of the force which provides security to the nation,” he wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Shireen Mazari in a tweet responding to criticism by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif defended Imran’s statement for raising concerns over “merit” in the selection of the country’s next army chief.
PTI senior leader Fawad Chaudhry also chimed in saying that “it is not correct to link this statement to the army or the leadership of the army” and argued that the party chief had only criticised the rival party heads.
Hours before the military’s response, the ruling coalition had castigated the PTI chairman for his remarks at the Faisalabad jalsa.
In a joint statement, the ruling coalition condemned Khan’s public meeting for spreading hatred against the Pakistan Army and its leadership and making “sensitive professional matters” controversial.
The entire nation is battling floods, while the PTI chairman is consumed by a thirst for revenge and his pride, the statement said, noting that despite the cataclysmic floods, Khan is targetting the armed forces.
The ruling partners said that the serious allegations being levelled against the military are for three reasons: to disturb the country’s economy, to move Pakistan’s economy to a path that it becomes like that of Sri Lanka, and foster enmity between the nation and the armed forces.
“With the power of the Constitution and law, we will thwart this nefarious conspiracy and deal with the conspirators in line with the constitution and law,” the statement said.
