ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan army on Monday slammed former Prime Minister Imran Khan for what it called "highly irresponsible and baseless allegations" against a serving senior military officer, warning him of legal action if he continued his "propaganda."
Khan, the chairman of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has repeatedly said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and intelligence official Major-General Faisal Naseer were behind an apparent assassination attack against his life last year. In recent rallies, Khan has repeated the name of Naseer, saying he was plotting to kill him and also said he was behind the murder of a pro-Khan TV anchor, Arshad Sharif, shot dead in Nairobi last year in what Kenyan police have called a case of "mistaken identity."
Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan addresses his supporters through a video link on May 5, 2023. (Photo courtesy: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf)
"Chairman PTI has levelled highly irresponsible and baseless allegations against a serving senior military officer without any evidence," the military said in a statement. "These fabricated and malicious allegations are extremely unfortunate, deplorable and unacceptable."
"This has been a consistent pattern for last one year wherein military and intelligence agencies officials are targeted with insinuations and sensational propaganda for the furtherance of political objectives. We ask the political leader concerned to make a recourse to legal avenues and stop making false allegations."
The army said it reserved the right to "take legal course of action against patently false and malafide statements and propaganda."
Khan, who was ousted from the PM's office via a parliamentary no-trust vote in April 2022, has accused then army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa of dismissing his government by colluding with current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his political allies. Khan came to power in a 2018 general election widely believed to have been rigged in his favour by the military - which both deny - but has since had a falling out with the army.
“Totally agree with ISPR [army media wing] that a legal recourse should be taken to resolve the allegations,” senior PTI leader Asad Umar said on Twitter in a caustic remark aimed at the fact that despite the PTI’s protestations, police have so far not named Naseer in the police FIR report in Khan’s assassination case.
“Imran khan has tried to do that by filing an FIR [police report] and approaching the supreme court. The institution supporting that legal recourse would be a very positive step forward.”
Senior PTI leader Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said:
"ISPR has issued a shocking press release. If Imran Khan believes that any officer is involved in the murderous attack on him, he should be satisfied through an independent and transparent investigation that this is not the case. But by refusing to investigate the allegation and releasing such a press release, you [army] are telling that you are above the law in Pakistan. Such behavior is destructive for nations."
