PESHAWAR: Former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan has defended his ‘controversial’ remarks about the top military brass, saying “under any circumstances, thieves cannot be allowed to appoint the next army chief”.
“New army chief should be appointed on merit. Thieves – Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari – cannot be allowed to pick the new army chief,” Imran said while addressing a public gathering in Peshawar on Tuesday.
The ousted premier said a “cabal of crooks” is running propaganda against him to pit his party against the army.
“Every well-wisher of any institution will speak about merit because institutions can only progress when they are strengthened.”
Imran, while referring to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, asked the charged crowd, “Should a ‘thieve absconder and convict’ be allowed to appoint Pakistan’s army chief?”
“They are trying to pit Pakistan’s biggest political party against the army… they are planning to disqualify me first and then to turn Pakistan’s institutions including the judiciary against me through propaganda…”
The ousted premier while responding to allegations of the PML-N-led coalition government said those who are labelling him as anti-army themselves targeted Pakistan’s institutions including the military in the past.
He also played the ruling party leaders’ video statements against the military.
Referring to Dawn Leaks, the PTI chief said the Sharif brothers sent a message to India that Pakistan’s army was supporting terrorism while they had no role in it.
“Likewise, Zardari through Hussian Haqqani asked a US official to save his government from the military,” Imran said while referring to the Memogate scandal
“Should we hand over such an important decision-making to these thieves? No we will never,” he vowed.
The former premier said unlike his opponents his criticism of the military is always positive. Rejecting the allegations that his statement was anti-army, the PTI chief said he never wanted to weaken the army as Pakistan has been spared by “wrath” that other Muslim countries had faced due to the strong army.
Imran further said he always respected the judiciary including lower courts “because justice cannot be ensured without free judiciary”.
Speaking about his controversial remarks due to which he is facing contempt proceedings, the former prime minister said he “might” have passed harsh words against additional sessions and district judge Zeba Chaudhry unintentionally due to the alleged torture on party leader Shahbaz Gill in the police custody.
“I have never allowed my party to attack the judiciary. I respect my judiciary and lower courts as well. I did not want to threaten any judge and it was not my intention,” he clarified.
‘Disqualification attempts’
Imran Khan said the coalition partners – including PML-N, PPP and JUI-F – were trying to disqualify him through their “puppet” Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja. “These stooges have realised they cannot win this match and they will lose elections to me whenever they are held.”
The PTI chief said the incumbent rulers came into power through a “foreign conspiracy engineered by the United States “to save themselves from accountability. “Because if I stayed in power they all will be convicted of corruption and put behind bars.”
Imran also asked his supporters to remain prepared for his call for the real freedom “as come what may, we will never accept them [government]”.
Earlier, premising a fitting response to the “deliberate distorting” of his words to “malign” him, Imran hinted at a possible rebuttal to the onslaught he has faced for his statements against the army chief’s selection process.
Addressing a public rally at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad on Sunday, the former prime minister had alleged that Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari wanted to appoint the army chief of their choice because if a “strong and patriotic army chief” came, they would be questioned about their “loot”.
The comments soon descended into a national controversy with condemnations flying in from all sides.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other ruling coalition leaders had on Monday condemned Imran Khan’s ‘poisonous’ allegations.
Even President Dr Arif Alvi had distanced himself from the deposed premier’s remarks concerning the army chief and said that he should “clarify the comments himself”.
Meanwhile, during a hearing concerning the ban on live broadcasting of the PTI chief’s speeches, the Islamabad High Court had expressed displeasure over the statements as well.
CJ Minallah had remarked that Imran “should first decide what he wants” and that he should not “expect that courts will give any relief after doing all this”. “You should also hold yourself accountable,” the court had said referring to the PTI chief.
Later in the day, the Pakistan Army also issued a statement saying it was “aghast at the defamatory and uncalled for the statement about the senior leadership of Pakistan Army by [the] chairman PTI during a political rally at Faisalabad”.
The PTI leaders however had sprung to the defence of their party chief after Pakistan Army expressed anger at Imran Khan’s remarks, saying that the statement did not mean to cause any harm to the institution.
