PM slams Imran for comments against COAS

Nation stands behind its armed forces, says premier

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday lambasted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairperson Imran Khan for his statement about the army chief, maintaining that it was his ‘admission of masterminding’ the ‘incidents of terrorism’ by ‘PTI goons’.

The prime minister’s statement came shortly after Imran, while speaking to journalists at the Islamabad High Court (IHC), claimed that the army was “maligned” because of “one man”. He further added that there was “no democracy” in the army.

In a comment to foreign journalists yesterday, he said that there could be no rule of law in Pakistan if there are “politicians like sacred cows, who commit corruption and then went immunity, like the NRO, or you have a military which is above the law”.

Read Imran claims 'hit on head' during arrest on May 9

Imran also claimed that the military had “picked him up” from the court earlier this week.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, PM Shehbaz stated that “Imran Niazi’s statement about the army chief is a reflection of his diseased and obsessive mind”.

He continued that as the director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the current COAS General Asim Munir “unearthed the corruption syndicate” of the deposed prime minister, which is why Imran “has been maligning the COAS from day one”.

Imran Niazi's statement about the Army Chief is a reflection of his diseased & obsessive mindset. As DG ISI, Gen Asim Munir unearthed the corruption syndicate of Niazi & that is why he has been maligning the COAS from day one. It is also his admission of masterminding the tragic…

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) May 13, 2023

“The desecration of the martyrs’ monuments and attack on the national installations represent an unimaginable low in our politics,” the premier stated.

Shehbaz maintained that the nation stood behind its armed forces and would “thwart any nefarious attempts at undermining them”.