ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif  said that “Disgusting” smear campaign of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf against Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, at behest of Imran Niazi deserved strongest condemnation.

On Twitter, he said that Imran Niazi was stooping to unprecedented lows in his desperation for power and going to extent of damaging country and undermining its armed forces and their leadership.

This man Niazi is stooping to unprecedented lows in his desperation for power & going to the extent of damaging the country & undermining our armed forces & their leadership. /2 https://t.co/Tt1SfhylXv

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) March 20, 2023

Campaign against the COAS was intolerable and continuation of conspiracy against national institutions, according to PM Office press release.

He urged overseas Pakistanis to raise their voice against “Foreign-funded” campaign. He said as dirty political game was being played through expatriates, they should not become part of conspiracy.

He said Imran Khan was violating Constitution by dragging institutions and their leadership into his “Dirty” politics. He instructed Interior Minister to strictly deal with those running such smear campaign against institutions.

He warned of strict legal action against those fanning chaos and subversion in country. Campaign against an Army Chief appointed purely on merit for first time in country’s history could only be an agenda of anti-Pakistan elements, he added. “Whole nation stands by its institutions and is united against miscreants,” PM remarked.

Meanwhile, the coalition government yesterday said the PTI was “not a political party but a clique of militants trained by banned outfits”, and resolved to take action under the law. The decision was taken in a six-hour-long meeting of the political parties in the ruling coalition at the Prime Minister’s House, according to a press release.

Both the government and military deny this. A campaign against an army chief appointed purely on merit for the first time in the country’s history could only be an agenda of the anti-Pakistan elements, he added. “The whole nation stands by its institutions and is united against miscreants,” the prime minister remarked.

Countering PM Shehbaz's tweets, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry jumped in to reject the former's claims by saying that such calumnious statements were meant to widen the divide between the people and the army chief for gaining political mileag.

Fawad in a tweet said: "Let me make it clear PTI has nothing to do with any slanderous campaign against Army Chief, rather we expect his good office to play role in normalising Pak politics by helping ECP to hold peaceful and transparent elections."

Published in The Daily National Courier, March, 21 2023

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