Army spokesperson shouldn’t interpret political matters: PTI

Ex-ministers take exceptions to DG ISPR’s statement that no conspiracy was involved in Imran’s ouster from power

ISLAMABAD:

The PTI leaders on Wednesday took strong exceptions to the DG ISPR’s statement that there was no evidence of any “foreign conspiracy” behind the ouster of Imran Khan’s government, saying the chief military spokesperson “should not interpret the political matters”.

Imran was ousted from power through a vote of no-confidence by a coalition of opposition parties in April 2022 following weeks of political turmoil. The PTI blamed its exit from power on a conspiracy hatched by the US to “punish Khan for visiting Moscow”.

The party presented a diplomatic cypher as evidence of the conspiracy in which a senior US administration official had purportedly warned of “consequences” if Khan was not removed from power through a no-confidence vote.

قومی سلامتی کا معاملہ ہے اور اس پر فوج کی رائے حرف آخر ہے، میں اس سے اتفاق نہیں کرتا- اسد عمر #سازش_ہی_تھی pic.twitter.com/Niv3UsC8DH

— PTI (@PTIofficial) June 15, 2022

A meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) was subsequently convened which condemned the diplomatic “communication” as “blatant interference” in Pakistan’s internal affairs. A diplomatic protest was also lodged following the NSC meeting.

However, DG ISPR Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar said in a TV interview on Tuesday that the agencies had found no evidence of a “foreign conspiracy” and that the NSC participants had been clearly told that no conspiracy was hatched against the PTI government. “No one has a right to distort the facts,” he added. “Everyone has a right to have an opinion but no one should spread lies.”

The DG ISPR TV interview triggered scathing rejoinders from the PTI.

Addressing a news conference in the federal capital on Wednesday, PTI Secretary General and former federal minister Asad Umar said the chief military spokesperson “should not interpret the political matters”.

He maintained that the words “foreign interference” had been used in the cypher.

“All these facts were mentioned in the cypher. It was said that Pakistan would face hard times if the no-confidence motion failed. Pakistan was directly threatened in the cypher,” Umar said, adding that he and PTI leader Dr Shireen Mazari were present in the first NSC.

Umar said that Imran, as PTI chairman, would write a letter to the Supreme Court to conduct an inquiry into the matter.

“We want a judicial commission to be formed and the facts be brought before the nation. Defending the national security is also the responsibility of the elected leadership,” he said.

President of Pakistan's letter to the chief justice, remains unanswered. A judicial commission should hold open hearings and whether there was a conspiracy will be settled once and for all. That there was blatant external interference has been ratified twice by the NSC.

— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) June 14, 2022

“Imran Khan is not saying that his analysis should be accepted. His only demand is that the nation has the right to know the truth,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Mazari noted that the “controversy will not end if the investigation is not carried out”.

There are too many unanswered troubling questions. Most rational way to resolve what is a critical issue for our nation is for Honourable CJP to respond positively to President Alvi's letter seeking judicial probe on the cipher. This is the only way forward to put matter to rest

— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) June 14, 2022

“We want that nothing of this sort happens again. Imran Khan’s decision to go to Russia was taken after much consultation. The American ‘conspiracy model’ already existed. We are saying that America is not doing this for the first time,” she said during the news conference.

 

Separately, on her Twitter handle, she wrote: “With due respect to ISPR DG's statement on the cipher not being reflective of [a] regime change conspiracy but merely of an unacceptable interference in our internal affairs, clearly, there is a difference in interpretation & it is wrong to label those disagreeing as basically liars”.

Interestingly, President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, has written an official letter to Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial asking for a judicial inquiry into the claim of foreign conspiracy.

“You were asking me a question that since it is a matter of national security, so the army has the final word on the issue, [but] with due respect, I don’t agree with this,” Umar said in a TV talk-show.

“[The] President of Pakistan’s letter to the chief justice remains unanswered. A judicial commission should hold open hearings and whether there was a conspiracy will be settled once and for all. That there was blatant external interference has been ratified twice by the NSC,” Umar said.

Dr Mazari also said that a judicial probe should settle this controversy. “There are too many unanswered troubling questions. The most rational way to resolve what is a critical issue for our nation is for the honourable CJP to respond positively to President Alvi's letter seeking a judicial probe on the cipher. This is the only way forward to put the matter to rest,” she added.

Other former ministers, including Babar Awan, Shahbaz Gill and Hammad Azhar also took to Twitter to share their reaction to the DG ISPR’s statement. Gill said the cipher sent by Pakistan’s envoy to the US should be de-classified along with the minutes of the NSC meeting. "This will clear up everything,” he added.

نیشنل سیکورٹی کی میٹنگ میں کیا سروسز چیفس نے اس بیرونی مداخلت کو مانا تھا یا نہیں؟ اور کیا چیفس نے demarche کرنے کو انڈورس کیا تھا یا نہیں ؟

اگر جواب ہاں میں ہے تو پھر کاہے کی وضاحتیں۔

سپریم کورٹ اوپن سماعت کرے پبلک کے سامنے مراسلہ رکھے۔ میٹنگ کے منٹ رکھے۔ سب سامنے آ جائے گا

— Dr. Shahbaz GiLL (@SHABAZGIL) June 15, 2022

He asked whether the services chiefs had acknowledged the cipher as “foreign interference” during the NSC meeting and endorsed the decision to lodge a diplomatic protest. “If the answer is yes, then why they are giving such explanations,” he added.

Azhar said one could use the word “interference” instead of “conspiracy”, but that didn’t change the fact that the PML-N and its allies were brought to power through a foreign state's interference.

“There has been a clear and blatant interference. This govt is imported from foreign power”-@Hammad_Azhar #سازش_ہی_تھی pic.twitter.com/hg1oEDMmew

— PTI (@PTIofficial) June 15, 2022

Awan urged the Supreme Court to probe the alleged conspiracy so “foreign and local” elements involved in it could be exposed. “This is an issue of national interest,” he added

صدرِ پاکستان نے سربراہِ ریاست کی حیثیت سے، اعلٰی ترین عدالت سے درست درخواست کی کہ سائفر والی سازش کی تحقیقات کی جائیں۔ آزادانہ تحقیقات سے بیرونی ہاتھ اور لوکل beneficiaries بے نقاب ہوں گے۔ یہ سیاست کا نہیں، ملکی خودمختاری کا معاملہ ہے۔

— Babar Awan (@BabarAwanPK) June 15, 2022