LAHORE: PTI on Thursday said that it is Imran Khan’s constitutional right to criticize the armed forces after senior army officials called out the former prime minister.
The comments came when PTI’s top leadership – Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Secretary General Asad Umar and Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry – addressed a joint press conference.
“You can argue about criticizing Imran Khan, but whatever he says is for the betterment of the army and the country. It is his constitutional right to criticize the army,” Umar told reporters. told.
Umar said that a major part of the presser by Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum and Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar was focused on PTI.
The PTI leader said that Khan has repeatedly expressed his views on the role of the armed forces – “he believes that a strong army is very important for Pakistan given its strategic position”.
Omar said the PTI chairman owns the armed forces and the nation and has “never” maligned the armed forces abroad – be it Britain or America.
“But Imran Khan does not agree with every decision of the armed forces. Are there any decisions or actions that he criticizes? Yes, he definitely does.”
Umar said that the constitution empowers the PTI chief to criticize the army. “But all that criticism, in Khan’s eyes, is for the betterment of the country and the army.”
Umar said that Khan never uttered a word to undermine the institution.
“[In their press conference, military officials] said it was inappropriate to make allegations against the leadership of the institution […] But I want to ask, if the leadership of the armed forces is important, then what is not the reputation? The country’s largest The matter of the leader?
The PTI leader said that it is really important that both sides reconsider their respective positions.
There are no difference in what Imran Khan discussed in meetings and what he says in his Jalsas-@Asad_Umar pic.twitter.com/PXmxJ71s7D
— PTI (@PTIofficial) October 27, 2022
The PTI leader praised the armed forces for sticking to their constitutional role, but asked the army what unconstitutional demands Khan had made during the closed-door meetings.
Umar said that the political, economic and social crises going on in the country are unprecedented and early elections are the only solution.
But Omar noted that Khan had asked the military to use its influence to stabilize the country, and that this was not “unconstitutional”. “What is happening behind closed doors is not all secret. Imran Khan has discussed them in rallies and press conferences.”
However, it is important to find an answer as to why this situation is happening in the country, we need to think about it, but when we look at the events that have happened, we will see that some mistakes are also made by the institutions. have happened ” he added.
“DGISI said that the then Prime Minister Imran Khan had told him that the then opposition leader was the biggest problem of the country, he was right, it has been proved from the literature that the law There must be supremacy, otherwise the country cannot develop.” Omar said.
Umar added that the DGISI mentioned that in the past Pakistan was divided into two parts due to ‘hate’. “It happened because the wishes of the people were not respected.”
“Will of people of Pakistan must be listened and respected”-@Asad_Umar #WeTrustImranKhan pic.twitter.com/ZR8DyKZnI4
— PTI (@PTIofficial) October 27, 2022
The reaction came after the DGISI made a surprise appearance during a press conference earlier in the day and slammed the former prime minister for making “unconstitutional” demands.
Taking a direct dig at the PTI chief, DG Lt Gen Anjum said that it was not possible for the former prime minister to meet Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at night and then call him a traitor during the day.
“If the army chief is a traitor, why meet him secretly? It is your right to meet him but it is not possible to meet him at night and call him a traitor during the day,” asked the DGISI.
Vavda’s Presser Aimed at Scaring People: Qureshi
Earlier at the beginning of the presser, PTI Vice President Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the party’s rally on May 25 was attacked by the then Punjab government.
The former foreign minister said that we could not defend ourselves. The way our people were tortured and put behind bars is in front of everyone.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi assured the journalists that PTI’s long march will be peaceful and the party will march towards Islamabad according to the constitution.
Responding to PTI leader Faisal Vawda’s press conference, Qureshi said the aim was to create a sense of fear among the people as people were “excited” for the long march.
“An attempt to scare people from joining our long march has been made. Pakistan’s awam stands with Imran Khan”-@SMQureshiPTI pic.twitter.com/fgyKkZwLAX
— PTI (@PTIofficial) October 27, 2022
A day earlier, following Vavda’s claims of a long march with “bloodshed, death and funerals”, the PTI had distanced itself from the former minister’s statement and suspended his party membership.
Reiterating that the PTI’s policy was clear on the peaceful long march, Qureshi termed yesterday’s presser as an “attempt to undermine people’s confidence in the PTI, which in our opinion has failed.” Because the details will come out soon.”
He explained that news channels that do not cover PTI, especially PTV, showed the entire VVDA press conference live, after which messages from London started coming in, showing all the missing dots. Added. It was a pre-planned move.”
“The coalition government is spreading the narrative that PTI wants political instability, however, we have no such intention,” Qureshi said, adding that the country was already suffering from political instability. There is a hunt that started when they [the ruling coalition] planned a no-confidence motion. Against Khan
Renewing his demand for free and fair elections, the former foreign minister said the elections could bring “much-needed stability to the country”.
Qureshi assured the reporters that PTI’s long march would be peaceful and the party would march towards Islamabad as per the constitution.
“I request people to participate in PTI’s long march without fear and enthusiasm, as it is a step towards Khan’s ‘real freedom’ agenda,” he said, urging them to trust the leadership. Advising said.
‘Cyper was and is a Reality’
Addressing the continued criticism of the “foreign cipher”, the PTI leader said: “We have been constantly saying that the cipher was and is a reality.”
He recalled that when there was a meeting regarding the cipher, “in which I was present with Imran Khan and Asad Umar, we were told that the cipher was an important issue and that a demarche should be issued to the ambassador, which Several sessions followed, including a National Security Committee.
Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar ) talks about NSC meeting and cypher. #WeTrustImranKhan pic.twitter.com/wEifzPuRDn
— PTI (@PTIofficial) October 27, 2022
“If it was a conspiracy [as the ruling coalition claims] then what was the need for the demarche and why was it called a political intervention?” Qureshi raised questions and rejected all allegations related to PTI, forcing the Pakistani ambassador to do so.
Qureshi recalled that the Pakistani ambassador said that he had never seen such language in his entire diplomatic experience.
He said that we have not created any narrative that would harm Pakistan, adding that PTI has always respected institutions and defended them at every turn.
ISPR Presser Was ‘Shocking’
On his part, Fawad Chaudhry said the ISPR presser came as a “shock”, adding that President Dr Arif Alvi had written to Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Atta Bandyal, telling him about the seriousness of the cipher. Informed by
Regarding the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif, Fawad said that the threats received by the victim “were not hidden from anyone because he had also informed the President of the threats to his life”.
The former information minister clarified that Nawaz Sharif did not leave Pakistan on the instructions of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. He left Pakistan because he was not allowed to speak.
