Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday strongly condemned the \u201cvile campaign\u201d against the Pakistan Army and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir abroad and called on overseas Pakistanis to raise their voices against it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe campaign against the army chief is intolerable and a continuation of the conspiracy against the institutions,\u201d he said in a statement issued by the Prime Minister\u2019s Office (PMO).<\/p>\n
He said that \u201ctoxic politics\u201d was being spread through overseas Pakistanis.<\/p>\n
The premier called on patriotic Pakistanis living abroad to raise their voices against the \u201cforeign-funded campaign\u201d and not become a part of such conspiracies.<\/p>\n
In his statement, PM Shehbaz also stated that PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan was dragging state institutions and their heads into his dirty politics, which was against the Constitution.<\/p>\n
He instructed the interior minister that those behind such anti-institution campaigns within the country should be dealt with \u201ciron hands\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cStrict legal action should be taken against those who instigate chaos, riots and rebellion in Pakistan,\u201d the premier stressed, adding that the nation stood by its institutions and was united against evildoers.<\/p>\n
He further said that the campaign against the COAS, who according to the prime minister was the \u201cfirst army chief to be appointed on merit in Pakistan\u201d, could only be the agenda of the enemies of the country.<\/p>\n
Later in a tweet, PM Shehbaz said: \u201cPTI\u2019s disgusting smear campaign against Chief of the Army Staff General Asim Munir at the behest of Imran Niazi is deserving of the strongest condemnation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis man Niazi is stooping to unprecedented lows in his desperation for power and going to the extent of damaging the country and undermining our armed forces and their leadership,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The PMO statement comes a day after hundreds of Pakistanis Americans gathered outside the White House on Sunday, ignoring freezing cold and biting winds, to demand an end to the government\u2019s actions against Imran.<\/p>\n
During the demonstration, one of the protesters said that the \u201cestablishment must realise its mistake\u201d. Another PTI supporter said: \u201cNow is the time for the establishment to accept civilian supremacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
A statement distributed at the gathering also urged the international community to take action by calling on the installed regime in Pakistan to immediately cease \u201cviolations\u201d of fundamental human rights, stop \u201ccustodial torture\u201d by security agencies, hold free and fair elections in Punjab and KP, cease victimisation of political opponents through arrests and false charges, withdraw all politically motivated cases, stop curtailing press freedom, cease subjecting peaceful protestors to police brutality and release all political workers being held in custody on frivolous and trumped-up charges, provide adequate security to Imran Khan, and hold those responsible for the atrocities accountable under the law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday strongly condemned the \u201cvile campaign\u201d against the Pakistan Army and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir abroad and called on overseas Pakistanis to raise their voices against it. \u201cThe campaign against the army chief is intolerable and a continuation of the conspiracy against the institutions,\u201d he said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-320662","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n