Former Prime Minister and PTI chief Imran Khan has said that the DG ISI and DG ISPR presser was full of lies and half-truths.
Talking to BBC Urdu, Imran said he was quoted out of context regarding the extension of the army chief.
Since his ouster from the government following no-confidence vote in April, the former prime minister has become increasingly critical of the army.
Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum, head of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar, director general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), addressed Imran’s antagonistic narrative against the military in a media interview on Thursday.
Lt Gen Anjum asserted during the explosive press conference that Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa was presented with a “lucrative offer” in March to extend his contract but declined it.
“Things have been taken out of context that we made an offer for an extension,” Imran said “Did they tell which side made the offer? In what context the discussion took place? If they tell the whole story, it would be very embarrassing for them.”
The former prime minister went on to describe the press conference as “very sad” as the ISI chief had never before held a press conference in such a manner. “I can respond to it point by point, which could be very embarrassing for the army.”
He continued, “But we don’t want any harm to our institution of the army as our enemies want the army to weaken and in turn, Pakistan weakens.”
Imran was also asked about the DG ISI highlighting contradictions in his statements about the army chief.
Without naming anyone, LT Gen Anjum had said: “If you see him as a traitor, then why do you meet him through the back door? […] Don’t do this where you meet quietly at night through the back door and express your unconstitutional wishes but call [the army chief] a traitor in broad daylight.”
In reply, the PTI chief said, “We will praise when they will do good.”
“It is childish to [think] that if we praise you, you will always be good. You also appreciate your children but also criticize them when they do something bad. It was actually a very foolish press conference.”
Imran also stated that he did not want to come to power because of the establishment’s favor.
When asked about his connections to the establishment, he emphasized that the military was not involved in his party’s victory in the 2018 elections.
The PTI chief said that the purpose of his protest march was free and fair elections and that was why his party wanted to introduce electronic voting machines. But the “two big parties and the [chief] election commissioner, who takes orders from elsewhere, did not let it happen,” he regretted. “As a result, our election will always be controversial, and chances of interference will remain.”
