LAHORE: PTI said Thursday that criticising the armed forces is the constitutional right of Imran Khan after the army’s top officials called out the ex-prime minister in press conference.
The comments came as PTI’s top leadership — Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Secretary-General Asad Umar, and Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry — addressed a joint press conference.
“You can argue with Imran Khan’s criticism, but whatever he says is for the army and the country’s betterment. It is his constitutional right to criticise the army,” Umar told journalists.
Umar said that a major chunk of Director-General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum and Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant-General Babar Iftikhar’s presser focused on PTI.
The PTI leader said Khan has time and again expressed his views on the armed forces’ role — “he believes that a strong army is crucial for Pakistan, given its strategical position”.
Umar said the PTI chairman owns the armed forces and the nation and he has “never” maligned the armed forces abroad — whether in the United Kingdom or the United States.
“But Imran Khan does not agree to every decision of the armed forces. Are there some decisions or actions [of the armed forces] that he criticises? Yes, he definitely does that.”
Umar said the Constitution empowers the PTI chief to criticise the military. “But all that criticism, in Khan’s eyes, is directed towards the betterment of the country and the military.”
Umar said Khan has never uttered a word to weaken the institution.
The PTI leader said that it was indeed important for both sides to rethink their positions.
“The political, economic, and social crises that are taking place in the country are unprecedented and early elections are the only solution for it,” Umar said.
But Umar noted that Khan had demanded the military to use its influence for stability in the country, and this is not “unconstitutional”. “All the things that are being discussed behind closed doors aren’t secret. Imran Khan has discussed them in rallies and press conferences.”
“However, it is important to seek answers as to why this situation is arising in the country. We need to think about it, but when we will take a look at the events that transpired, we will see that institutions have also made some mistakes,” he added.
“DG ISI said that then-prime minister Imran Khan told him that the then-opposition leader was the biggest problem in the country. He was right, it has been proven via literature that the law should be upheld otherwise a country cannot progress,” Umar said.
At the outset of the presser, PTI Vice President Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that on May 25, the party’s rally was “attacked” by the then-Punjab government.
“We could not defend ourselves. The way our people were tortured and put behind bars is in front of everyone,” the former foreign minister said.
Qureshi assured the journalists that the PTI’s long march would remain peaceful and the party would march towards Islamabad in line with the Constitution.
In response to PTI leader Faisal Vawda’s press conference, Qureshi said that it was aimed at creating a sense of fear among the masses as people were “enthusiastic” for the long march.
Addressing the presser Fawad Chaudhry claimed that the incumbent government wanted to kill senior journalist Arshad Sharif in jail.
Fawad said his party was shocked by military leaders’ press conference. “The press conference held by the ISPR today, I was shocked,” he said.
“If Rana Sanaullah or Khawaja Asif hold press conference, we can respond to them. But press conference held by institutions there is a certain level of respect. We can’t respond to them,” he added.
The former information minister further said that along with the respect of the institutions, it was also important to respect the people’s choice. “Since the day of the no-confidence motion, the nation have shown who they want as the leader of the country,” he added.
