Army takes strong exception to provocative statements

RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Armed Forces on Sunday condemned the spread of “unsubstantiated, defamatory, and provocative statements and remarks” against them and termed the practice “extremely damaging”.

According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), “intensified and deliberate attempts” have recently been made “to drag Pakistan Armed Forces and their leadership into the ongoing political discourse in the country.”

“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, a few journalists and analysts on public forums and various communication platforms, including social media.”

The statement said that the practice of “unsubstantiated, defamatory and provocative statements and remarks is extremely damaging,” adding that the Pakistan Armed Forces take “strong exception to such unlawful and unethical practices”.

As per the statement, the army “expects all to abide by the law and keep the armed forces out of political discourse in the best interest of the country.” Since the beginning of this year and in the face of rapidly changing political situation of the country, the Pakistan Army has repeatedly urged people not to drag the army into political matters.

Following the dissolution of the National Assembly by President Arif Alvi on the advice of former prime minister Imran Khan on April 3, the Director-General of ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar had said that the military had nothing to do with the political events of that day.

Replying to a question regarding the involvement of the army in the political developments of the day, the DG ISPR had bluntly denied any sort of involvement and had said, “absolutely not”

Similarly, on February 8, he had said that the “Pakistan Army has nothing to do with politics and should not be dragged into it.”In a statement, the military spokesperson had said the army was “not in contact with anyone through backdoor channels,” adding that the “armed forces do not have any interest in politics.”“It doesn’t suit anyone to talk about this without doing any research into the matter. If anyone has any evidence, it should be brought forth, else such rumours should stop,” he had said.