Ministers claim PTI for “template-like institutions”; concurs with ISPR’s statements on former Prime Minister
ISLAMABAD/LAHORE/KARACHI:
A day after the PTI reacted to a press conference by the top military spokesman, who described former prime minister Imran Khan as a “narcissist” and a “mentally ill person”, leaders from various parties in the ruling coalition slammed the PTI for its alleged “anti-state narrative”.
In relation to X, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal called Imran’s political rhetoric “a deeply irresponsible and dangerous trend that seeks to undermine Pakistan’s state institutions, weaken national cohesion and erode public confidence in the armed forces that defend our borders.”
Iqbal, who belongs to the PML-N, said political differences are part of any democracy – but when politics crosses the line into anti-state narrative building, deliberate misinformation and attacks on the integrity of the armed forces, it threatens the stability, security and unity of the country.
Iqbal added that no leader had the right to weaponize divisive rhetoric for personal gain at the expense of Pakistan’s national security. He said that the Pakistan Army is a professional, disciplined and patriotic institution that has stood as the shield of this nation, from fighting terrorism to defending territorial sovereignty.
“Attempts to malign the armed forces or create discord between the people and their defenders only serve the agenda of Pakistan’s enemies,” he said, adding that he “strongly condemned Imran’s “continued policy of hatred, distortion and incitement against the state and state institutions.”
Addressing a press conference at his residence in Rawalpindi, Railway Minister Hanif Abbasi said any campaign against the army is intolerable for every Pakistani. “Those who understand only power cannot be persuaded by words,” he said.
He said there is no justification left to allow a meeting between Imran Khan, who is detained in Adiala Jail, and his party leaders as Imran’s narrative is an attack on the state. He said the decision on whether governor’s rule will be imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be taken later.
“Today, a deliberate conspiracy is pushing the country towards destabilization. The same people are being used who were tools in the past,” he claimed.
According to him, India and Afghanistan have gone far in enmity against Pakistan. He claimed that Afghanistan, which used to operate clandestinely, is now openly supporting various organizations.
“The founder’s sisters and children are sitting in Indian media,” he said, adding: “They are asking why he has been declared mentally unstable – we say the decision is correct.”
Addressing PML-N workers in Lahore, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar also declared Imran Khan “mentally unstable”. He said that people in PTI are putting Imran Khan before all other things. “We reject and condemn such thinking – because if Pakistan is not there, then nothing else matters.”
Tarar said that PTI has ruled Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa for 12-and-a-half years but has failed to execute a single major development project in the province.
He said the provincial government has turned KP into ruins and could not even build a hospital in its own province – while the PML-N built major projects in Punjab, including a forensic laboratory and several development works.
Tarar added that videos of the attack on the Corps Commander House on May 9, 2023 clearly show that women belonging to the PTI were present during the assault.
“They carried out actions to weaken our army to a degree that even our enemies could not,” he said. Accusing the PTI government of cowardice for never raising its voice against India, he said PTI’s social media accounts are involved in misleading propaganda against state institutions.
The leadership of MQM-P also called PTI for “deviating from a political route and resorting to the politics of the streets to cause instability in the country”.
“PTI has continued its policy of airing allegations and instead of choosing the right forum to address these allegations, it used it to create political instability in the country,” MQM-P Chairman Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said during a press conference in Karachi.
“At a time when all parliamentarians on both sides of the spectrum should have stood with the armed forces, the leadership of the armed forces and the political leadership of the country, instead a campaign was launched over the last two days which gave way to the fear that there could be some foreign elements involved in all this,” he said.
Siddiqui went on to say that all political parties might have different views and even different dreams for Pakistan’s future, “but when the country was in crisis, all political parties are seen to stand together.”
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, who belongs to the PPP, condemned “elements spreading false narratives against the Pakistan Armed Forces” at a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday.
According to Bugti, some political parties spread anti-state propaganda while children of their own leaders studied abroad. “Our state is more important than politics. We must abandon narratives that seek to weaken the state,” he said.
