Spymaster slams Imran Khan
\nMilitary\u2019s spokesperson says army leadership \u201ctargeted and linked with treason and regime change operation\u201d
\nRAWALPINDI
\nIn a direct jibe at PTI chief Imran Khan, Director-General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum on Thursday said that it is not possible that the former prime minister can meet army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at night and then call him a \u201ctraitor in the day\u201d.
\n\u201cIf the commander-in-chief is a traitor then why did you meet him in hiding? Meeting [him] is your right but it cannot be possible that you meet at night and call [him] a traitor in the day,\u201d asked the DG ISI.
\nLt Gen Anjum said that the military was called \u201cneutral and an animal\u201d as they had committed treason by refusing to be part of an \u201cillegal\u201d decision. He said that the refusal to do the \u201cillegal job\u201d was not the decision of a single person or army chief but of the entire institution.
\nThe ISI chief said that the military has been under a lot of pressure since March but they decided to limit themselves to its constitutional role.
\nHe added that General Bajwa could have spent the last six months of his term in peace but he took the decision in favour of the country and institution.
\n\u2018If COAS is traitor, then why was he praised?\u2019
\n\u201cFormer government offered army chief an extension for an indefinite period during his term in order to fail the no-trust motion but he turned down the offer,\u201d said Lt Gen Anjum. He also wondered if the commander-in-chief was a traitor then \u201cwhy was he praised endlessly in the recent past\u201d.
\n\u201cIf the army chief is a traitor in your eyes, why did you want to give an extension in his term, why do you still meet him secretly,\u201d asked the DG ISI.
\n\u201cThe leaders of the institutions debated on the matter for several days and the institution decided after deliberating on every aspect that we will remain restricted to the constitution,\u201d said the DG ISI.
\nHe said that the people who were part of this decision included those who will be leading the army for the next 15 to 20 years.
\nOn his appearance at the press conference, DG ISI said that he was forced to come in public after he saw the lies that are being spread conveniently and are becoming acceptable.
\n\u201cI broke the silence when I saw that there was a risk of \u2018fitna, fasad\u2019 in country and institution just because lies were not being declared lies,\u201d he said.
\nSharif was in contact with institution: DG ISI
\nDG ISI said that when Arshad Sharif was in Pakistan, he was in contact with the institution and maintained contact even when he travelled abroad. He also shared that he is in contact with his Kenyan counterpart on the matter of his death.
\n\u201cWe are not satisfied that is why the government has formed the inquiry team,\u201d said the DG ISI. He added that the members of his agency were deliberately removed from the inquiry committee.
\nOn the same point, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant-General Babar Iftikhar that the military had decided not to include ISI and Military Intelligence officials in the probe as unnecessary fingers were being raised at the institution.<\/p>\n
The DG ISPR made the comments during an unprecedented press briefing with DG ISI on the death of senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya. Lt Gen Anjum was invited by the military spokesperson considering the \u201csensitivity of the matter\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe purpose of this press conference is to inform you about the death of prominent senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya and the circumstances surrounding it,\u201d DG ISPR said at the start of the press conference. <\/p>\n
\u2018People have been misled\u2019
\nLt Gen Iftikhar said that the press conference is being done at a time when it is \u201cimportant to present the facts correctly\u201d so \u201cfact, fiction and opinion\u201d can be differentiated. He also shared that the military\u2019s media wing has informed PM Shehbaz Sharif about the press conference. <\/p>\n
The head of the military\u2019s media wing said that there is a need to examine the \u201cunder which a false narrative has been made and people have been misled\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstitutions, leadership and even the chief of army staff have been accused without a reason to create an extraordinary chaotic situation,\u201d said the DG ISPR. <\/p>\n
Lt Gen Iftikhar said that Sharif\u2019s death was a \u201cvery tragic incident\u201d. He called the senior journalist an icon of Pakistani journalism, a martyr\u2019s son and a martyr\u2019s brother and a serving officer\u2019s brother-in-law. His programmes will be seen as a role models for journalists, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince Arshad was an investigative journalist, he also looked into the cypher issue when it surfaced,\u201d shared DG ISPR. He also highlighted that the journalist had also interviewed then-prime minister Imran Khan on the issue, adding that at the time it was claimed that he was shown the document. <\/p>\n
\u201cFacts linked with the cypher and Arshad Sharif\u2019s death need to be found. So there is no ambiguity left in this regard,\u201d said the DG ISPR. <\/p>\n
The DG ISPR said that the facts linked with the cypher and Arshad Sharif\u2019s death need to be found, so there is no ambiguity.<\/p>\n
The spokesperson of the military also shared that the army chief has discussed the cypher with the PTI chief at Kamra when he had visited the facility as prime minister, adding that Imran Khan had said himself that the document \u201cwas not a big deal\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was surprising for us when Imran Khan in March 27 rally flashed the paper in an effort to give a narrative which was not linked with the reality in any way was made in a dramatic way,\u201d said the DG ISPR.<\/p>\n
Lt Gen Iftikhar said that several facts regarding the cypher have surfaced, so far, which have exposed the \u201chollow and fabricated story\u201d. He added that the opinion of a Pakistani envoy was used by the former prime minister for his political interests.<\/p>\n
The military spokesperson said that the ISI in a \u201cvery clear and professional way\u201d informed the National Security Committee that they had found no evidence of any type of conspiracy against the government. He said that the NSC was briefed that it was the envoy\u2019s personal assessment and the strategy envoy had recommended was the same one recommended to the Foreign Office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Spymaster slams Imran Khan Military\u2019s spokesperson says army leadership \u201ctargeted and linked with treason and regime change operation\u201d RAWALPINDI In a direct jibe at PTI chief Imran Khan, Director-General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum on Thursday said that it is not possible that the former prime minister can meet army chief General Qamar […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291923,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[930,260,3713,11263],"class_list":{"0":"post-291995","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-coas","9":"tag-dg-isi","10":"tag-dg-ispr","11":"tag-traitor"},"yoast_head":"\n