Imran censured over anti-army tirade

PM, ex-president say attacks on army cannot be tolerated anymore

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and former president Asif Zardari blasted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday for hurling baseless allegations against a military officer, terming such a tirade an “actual attack on the Pakistan Army”.

In their separate statements, the two leaders said that levelling allegations for “petty political gains” was highly condemnable, and accused the former prime minister of “crossing all limits” in trying to defame institutions.

“Imran Niazi's act of routinely maligning and threatening Pakistan Army and Intelligence Agency for the sake of petty political gains is highly condemnable,” Prime Minister Shehbaz said in a tweet.

“His leveling of allegations without any proof against Gen Faisal Naseer and officers of our Intelligence Agency cannot be allowed and will not be tolerated,” the prime minister wrote further on the microblogging website.

The prime minister’s tweet came on the heels of a statement from Zardari, who also lambasted Imran for repeatedly levelling allegations against the Maj-Gen Faisal Naseer, saying that allegations against the army officials were actually an attack on the army.

Zardari said that attacks on the military could not be tolerated. “The allegations against the brave and distinguished officers of the Pakistan Army, including Maj-Gen Faisal, are actually an attack on the institution with which the whole of Pakistan stands,” he said.

“This is the country where we all have to be buried; we will not allow one person to play with our values and our country,” he added. “A person is bent on destroying my ancestors, my children and my country, which we will not allow.”

Calling Imran a “foreign agent” and predicting his downfall, Zardari said that “a person is fooling his innocent workers” with lies and deceit, adding: “I see the downfall of this person.”

“Enough is enough,” Zardari said, referring to Imran’s speech on Saturday. “Especially, after listening to the ‘foreign agent’ s speech yesterday, no patriot can even think of following him.”

He then said that “one person has crossed all limits to defame institutions, which will not be tolerated anymore,” the former president said. “The attempt to discredit institutions has exposed the true face of that man.”

After an assassination attempt on Imran, a relative of the PTI chairman had moved an application to register an FIR against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Maj-Gen Faisal Naseer.

In the attack at Wazirabad, Imran had suffered a bullet wound to his leg. Following the attack, PTI leader Asad Umar had said in a video statement that party chairman had named three suspects who could be behind the attack.