ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani military on Sunday took a “strong exception” to the views expressed by a few politicians and journalists, and asked them not to drag the armed forces and their leadership in the ongoing political discourse in the South Asian country.
Following the ouster of Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote last month, Pakistan’s powerful military has faced criticism from supporters of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on social media and other video-based platforms.
Khan has repeatedly called on his supporters to desist from attacking the military, saying the Pakistan Army and the PTI were the only two elements keeping the country united.
On Sunday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing, addressed the “intensified and deliberate attempts to drag Pakistan armed forces and their leadership in ongoing political discourse in the country” through a press statement.
“These attempts are manifest through direct, insinuated or nuanced references to the armed forces as well as their senior leadership, made by some political leaders, few journalists and analysts,” the ISPR said.
"Pakistan armed forces take strong exception to such unlawful and unethical practice and expect all to abide by the law and keep the armed forces out of political discourse in the best interest of the country."
The ISPR said these references were shared on social media and other communication platforms. “This practice of unsubstantiated, defamatory and provocative statements/remarks is extremely damaging,” it added.
This is not the first time the military has issued such a statement in recent weeks.
Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar said April 14 the army should not be dragged into politics, after weeks of political turmoil in Pakistan that saw the ouster of one prime minister and the election of a new one.
In the weeks leading up to his removal, Khan said the then opposition's campaign to oust him was orchestrated by the United States (US).
Khan and his supporters have variously expressed disappointment that the military and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa did not support him against the alleged foreign plot.
In the days following Khan's ouster, anti-army and anti-judiciary hashtags remained top trends on social media platforms. The social media campaign drew a sharp response from the army’s top command, while the civilian-led Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) also launched a crackdown to quell attempts to stir unrest in the country.
Pakistan has been ruled by the military for about half its history and tensions between governments and top generals often dominate the country’s politics.
