Rashid wants PTI-military ‘misunderstanding’ erased

Former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Wednesday condemned the recent criticism against Pakistan Army and said the “misunderstanding” between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and the military establishment must be cleared up.

The statement comes a day after the country's top military brass took notice of the recent propaganda campaign by some quarters to malign Pakistan Army and create a division between the institution and society.

"National security of Pakistan is sacrosanct. Pakistan Army has always stood by the state institutions to guard it and always will, without any compromise," the ISPR statement said.

It is pertinent to note here that certain social media accounts generated trends vilifying state institutions, including the military, following the ouster of Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion on Sunday.

Rashid, while responding to a question in Peshawar on Wednesday, said: “No slogan should be raised against the army.”

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He said the PTI and its allies must learn to mend ties with the military from the PML-N.

“If those who curse [them] can make peace with them then we should also remove our misunderstandings and establish good relations with them (the army),” he said.

'Conspiracy'

However, Rashid dispelled the notion that PTI and its allies were behind the anti-military trends, saying a "conspiracy" was being orchestrated by the political rivals to discredit the PTI.

“These are the same people who cursed this army from London and Gujranwala and now they’re polishing their boots,” he said.

He claimed the nation was still standing with the former prime minister Imran Khan, asking to "wait till June 15, that the PTI chief would “give a call” for Islamabad".

'Threats' to Imran's life

“There is a threat to his life and he can be put in jail too but that doesn’t make a difference,” the AML chief said while doubling down on the PTI’s claims that an “international master plan” was put in place to topple Imran Khan-led government to bring the current coalition government in power.

He claimed “international powers could get Imran Khan killed.”

Despite the threat, he said, Imran was not ready to share the National Assembly floor with the current “imported” government.