Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday (July 9) accused his predecessor Imran Khan of indulging in a “vile, sinister and malicious campaign” against Army Chief General Asim Munir.
Sharif said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan was using camouflage methods to target the army chief.
“Imran Khan is engaged in a hateful, sinister and malicious campaign against COAS General Syed Asim Munir. Their ploy of using a proxy to threaten the Army Chief with an assassination attempt has been exposed badly,” he tweeted.
Sharif claimed that Imran Khan was adopting coercive tactics to return to power.
He tweeted, “After the failure of his systematically planned attack on state symbols, he is clearly desperate and wants to return to power, what he does not know is that his use of intimidation, violence and hatred The time for politics is over.”
Sharif said the former prime minister was exposing himself by using highly reprehensible antics, “the core of which is defined by putting his personal interest (power grab) over everything else”.
He wrote, “The people and political parties of Pakistan stand like a rock behind their Army Chief and Armed Forces and will thwart any attempt and conspiracy to undermine their prestige, honor and integrity.”
PM’s office ordered legal action
In a press statement shared separately by the PM’s Office media wing, Sharif ordered officials to initiate legal action against those involved in such malicious campaigns at home and abroad.
“A clear message to the planners, facilitators and handlers of May 9: All conspiracies against Pakistan and its institutions will be crushed,” he said.
Violent protests broke out across the country on 9 May after PTI chief Khan was arrested from the premises of the Islamabad High Court.
The government subsequently launched a massive crackdown against PTI leaders and activists, arresting thousands of people for attacking civilian and military installations.
Khan’s supporters vandalized a dozen military installations, including the Lahore Corps Commander’s House, Mianwali Airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad, in response to Khan’s arrest.
The mob also attacked the Army Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi for the first time.
Police put the death toll in the violent clashes at 10, while Khan’s party claimed 40 of its workers were killed in firing by security personnel.
“Desperate elements will not be allowed to create a new crisis in the country,” Sharif said in a press release. He said the country stands by its armed forces and its leader.
Khan was removed from power in April last year through a no-confidence vote, but he refused to accept it and launched a campaign to regain power, calling his ouster a conspiracy.
His efforts were hampered when he was arrested following violence by his supporters on 9 May.
(with PTI inputs)
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