The government on Thursday hailed the apolitical role of the armed forces and for its commitment to perform their role as per the law and constitution of the country.
Addressing a press conference, Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah said that Imran Khan had been questioning the political role of the establishment during the last six months. However, the establishment through a presser had reaffirmed the commitment to play its role as per the constitution, he said.
The minister also appreciated the stance of Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa who rejected the offer for a lifetime extension from Imran Khan. Sanaullah said PTI leader Imran Khan’s detestable face was exposed before the nation even further after the apex intelligence agency chief stepped up to set the record straight regarding the cipher and Arshad Sharif’s murder in a rare presser.
He said the press briefing by the ISPR DG and the ISI DG further exposed Imran who staged a drama of cipher to defeat the no-confidence motion moved against him.
The minister said the politics of the PTI leader, whose heinous face was unmasked by the audio leaks, was aimed at mongering hate and dividing the nation. “Democracy cannot move ahead in the presence of Khan’s negative agenda,” the interior minister said, adding that no political or non-political group would be allowed to damage the economy and stability of the country.
The minister termed the death of journalist Arshad Sharif a tragic incident and said that he was forced to leave the country after a threat alert issued by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and propaganda against him. He said that this matter had been politicized like the cipher issue and the detestable face was exposed before the nation again.
Threat alert issued by the KP government would be inquired properly while other facts including the departure of Arshad Sharif to Dubai and Kenya would be verified, he said. All information regarding ownership of a farmhouse in Kenya and the identity of Khurram and Waqar would be shared with the nation, the minister said.
“I would not level any allegation about a particular act of crime against anyone due to my position,” the minister said. He said that PTI exploited the Model Town incident in 2014 to stage a sit-in and it was again trying to do politics on the issue of Arshad Sharif.
In favor of his argument, the minister said that Imran Khan earlier announced holding the long march on October 28, 2022 but he suddenly changed the protest date to coincide with the day when the dead body of Arshad Sharif was being transported.
He said that a two-member team had been sent to Kenya for gathering facts about this incident. The team has been instructed to get access to Khurram and Waqar, information about their employer and business, ownership of the farmhouse and inquiry facts of police party investigating into this case, he said.
About the long march call of PTI, he said that Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration had received the application and was reviewing it, however, gathering could be allowed at places in Sectors H-9 and G-9 allocated by courts. The professional assessment of their intention was being made and permission might be granted after fulfilling all requirements, he added.
In case of any unrest, the participants of long march would be stopped at entry points of the capital as requisite number of security personnel had been provided by Rangers, FC, Sindh and Islamabad police, he said. “All other resources and logistic support have been provided to them,” the minister said, adding that the participants would not be allowed to enter the Red Zone.
Extension
Meanwhile, Federal Minster for Defense Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that at one time, Imran was offering extension to the army chief but when the COAS declined to take illegal and unconstitutional steps, the PTI chief started to cast aspersions on General Bajwa’s integrity.
When Imran Khan was in power, he crossed all limits to praise the military leadership to remain in power but after the no-confidence motion, he started maligning the institution, he said while addressing a press conference. The minister said Imran believed his personality was more important than Pakistan’s sovereignty and institutions.
“He uses one language in front of media against the institutions, while behind the closed doors, he uses apologetic language in secret meetings,” said the defense minister. He said earlier the opposition was exposing his real face to the nation but now it has been disclosed directly from the institution.
Imran had been offering deal of extension in service for the indefinite period to the Army Chief against no-confidence motion and to protect his government, said the defense minister, adding this information had come straight from the horse’s mouth.
Chaotic
On the other hand, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Attaullah Tarar said that Imran Khan’s long march was aimed at creating unrest and anarchy in the country.
Addressing a press conference, he said that Imran was not coming to Islamabad for holding a peaceful long march but he aimed at creating disruption as he wanted politics over dead bodies. “This is not a Haqiqi March. This is a planned bloody march which will only destroy the peace in the country,” he said.
Tarar alleged that armed groups ahead of the long march were coming to fore and it was not happening without the permission of the PTI chief as he wanted to see chaos in the country.
PTI leader Faisal Vawda had himself accepted that there would be chaos and feared that dead bodies would fall when long march would come to Islamabad, he said, adding that all these things show the ill intentions of the PTI chief.
