PM condemns ‘vile’ media campaign against COAS

LAHORE / ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday slammed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for launching a “vile, sinister and malicious” campaign against Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir.

Taking to Twitter, the premier condemned the PTI chief, saying he has been badly exposed.

“Imran Khan continues to engage in a vile, sinister and malicious campaign against COAS General Syed Asim Munir. His trick of using proxies to threaten the Army Chief of an assassination attempt has been badly exposed,” he wrote on the microblogging site.

PM Shehbaz Sharif said that the former prime minister was desperately working to coerce his way back into power after failure in a methodically planned attack on the state symbols.

He said the PTI chief fails to realise that “the time of his politics of intimidation, violence and hatred is over”.

“Through such highly condemnable antics, he is only exposing himself, the core of which is defined by putting his personal interest (power grab) over everything else,” the PM said.

He reiterated that the people of Pakistan and the political parties strongly stood behind army chief Gen Munir and the armed forces and will thwart any attempt and conspiracy at undermining the Pakistan Army’s prestige, honour and integrity.

Meanwhile, PM Shehbaz strongly condemned the campaign on social media to assassinate General Asim Munir. In a statement, he said that similar thinking was done for the black day of May 9, 2023. “There is a blunt message to the planners, facilitators and handlers of May 9 that all their plans would be crushed,” he maintained.

He has said the nefarious campaign against the COAS and the Army was the result of the planning of the evil mind, the conspiratorial mind, and the same elements were again headed against political and economic stability.

The prime minister said the dirty media campaigns against the martyrs was also a part of the same plan.

He directed the relevant institutions to take legal action against the media campaigners inside and outside the country and said that the media campaign against the Army and its chief does not fall under the category of freedom of expression.

He further said that this media campaign was a conspiracy which will be stopped with full force and this was the duty of the present government to crush such campaigns.

The prime minister further said that he will not allow the desperate elements to create a new crisis in frustration and despair.

Separately, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb in a statement said that Imran Khan was suffering from the fear of missing out (FOMO), which is an incurable disease.

“The May 9 planner will be responsible for any political extremism or misadventure. Toshakhana trial is starting, evidence of corruption is coming out, so another conspiracy is needed. He is crazy and mentally ill who should be in a lunatic centre,” she charged.

She contended PTI chairman’s campaign against the country and the state is the same old, as only faces are changing but the agenda is the same, the agenda of May 9 is being run by proxies and puppets sitting abroad.

“The cheap, malicious and mischievous media campaign against national institutions is the result of the planning of evil mind. Some elements are sitting abroad and doing anti-national [propaganda] and treason,” she said.

The minister made it clear that Imran Khan will be responsible if there is an incident of political extremism, adding that the foreign agent’s disease is incurable.

Marriyum said he is engaged in planning baseless propaganda, allegations, riots and conspiracies, whereas Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has made it clear that propaganda against the state institutions will not be allowed at any cost.

Referring to Imran’s statements, she said sometimes a cipher, sometimes a rocket launcher, sometimes a murderous attack, sometimes a vaccine with hooves, sometimes absurd statements about Jesus and sometimes the Holy Quran are evidence of a sick mentality.

“In 2017, it was told that he was mentally ill and insane who should be in a mad house, who wants chaos, dead bodies and corruption in the country. To divert attention from his corruption, lies and failures, he puts buckets, boxes and dustbins on his head,” she noted.

She pointed out he falsely accused the officers of his murder and when asked for evidence, he said that there is no evidence and that he had heard from the people.

The minister contended that the PTI chief is using some Youtubers and Vloggers as ‘proxies’ to spread his lies, conspiracies and propaganda and this is the same cheap mentality that carried out a dirty campaign against the martyrs of Lasbela helicopter.

“Foreign agent is responsible for political extremism in the country and May 9 through their proxies, brainstorming, planning, terrorism against the state. He attacked government buildings, desecrated martyrs’ memorials and got torched ambulances, Radio Pakistan, mosques, schools.

“By doing these acts he was trying to provide false material to his Youtubers and vloggers.”