ISLAMABAD: The prime minister Monday denounced a “vile campaign” that he claimed was initiated by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to target the Pakistan Army and its chief, Gen. Syed Asim Munir, in foreign countries.
In a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Shehbaz Sharif urged overseas Pakistanis to speak out against this campaign and defend the honour and integrity of their country’s military.
“The campaign against the army chief is intolerable and a continuation of the conspiracy against the institutions,” he declared. Sharif, who has emerged significantly weakened from the political crisis, also claimed that “toxic politics” was being spread through the diaspora.
This man Niazi is stooping to unprecedented lows in his desperation for power & going to the extent of damaging the country & undermining our armed forces & their leadership. /2 https://t.co/Tt1SfhylXv
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) March 20, 2023
He has also issued a call to “patriotic” citizens living abroad to reject and speak out against what he has called a “foreign-funded campaign” aimed at destabilising the country.
The prime minister also expressed concern over the involvement of Khan in what he described as attempts to drag state institutions and their leaders into politics, which he said is in violation of the Constitution.
He has directed the interior minister, Rana Sanaullah Khan, to take strong action against those involved in anti-institution campaigns within the country. He has called for decisive action to be taken against such individuals to preserve the integrity and stability of the nation.
His statement came after supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan took their protest to the streets of London, after staging a demonstration outside the house of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif.
The protesters, numbering in the hundreds, gathered outside the residence of Shehbaz Sharif on Edgware Road where pro-Khan slogans were chanted during the protest.
