Imran advised to lower tension with army

ISLAMABAD: Jailed founder chairman of the PTI Imran Khan was advised on Monday to lower the temperature vis-à-vis the army and its top command.

Fawad Chaudhry, who met Khan in Adiala jail on Monday, said that he told Imran Khan that he and the PTI need to focus on issues instead of persons and bring down the tensions with the army and its top command to get fair space in politics.

Talking to The News, Chaudhry said that he also asked Imran Khan to bring back the control of his “X” (formerly Twitter) account to Pakistan from abroad to lower the tension between the party and the establishment. Imran Khan’s “X” account is being used to attack the military establishment including the army chief. Like Chaudhry, many senior PTI leaders also want a check on such an aggressive use of Imran Khan’s “X” account as well as PTI social media’s anti-army campaigns. However, they neither express their opinion in public for fear of backlash from PTI social media nor dare they press Imran Khan to stop attacking the army and its top command.

As recently reported by The News, the PTI senior leadership including its present chairman, secretary general and information secretary have no control over PTI’s official social media platforms, which (including Imran Khan’s “X” account) are controlled and run from abroad. Fawad Chaudhry was, however, confident that Imran Khan would positively respond to his advice. Imran Khan and PTI will have to do it to get back to normal politics, he said, adding that he would again meet the jailed PTI leader on the 19th of this month. “I will continue pursuing him,” Chaudhry resolved. He said that the PTI social media is also required to distance itself from the anti-army propaganda of the enemies of Pakistan.

On December 2nd, almost a fortnight before his Monday meeting with Imran Khan, Fawad Chaudhry posted on “X” the following message: “PTI stalwarts should move away from narrative criticizing the military as an institution. The Army is an essential component of Pakistan’s security framework: no nation functions without its armed forces. Such criticisms could weaken Pakistan as a nation. We need to lower the temperature of these discussions rather than escalate into an institutional conflict, which might inadvertently serve foreign interests. While the military’s political involvement should be open to scrutiny and requires reform, it remains a critically important institution.

The soldiers who risk their lives in the line of duty are our pride, and those who have fought for our security are indeed our lifeline. As Imran Khan has stated, ‘The country is ours, and so is the Army.’ I recognize that emotions run high, but it’s critical not to become a tool in the hands of our adversaries.” Chaudhry’s above post on ‘X’ was a response to a post by a PTI social media activist, who had sought a boycott of products and services of the army.