Army, ISI assail Imran Khan on the eve of his ‘long march’

ISLAMABAD: Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum Thursday revealed that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Bajwa was given a lucrative offer of extension for an “indefinite period” in March 2022 prior to no-confidence motion against former Prime Minister Imran Khan besides accusing him of holding secret meetings with Gen Bajwa in ‘darkness of night’ and tagging him as traitor in ‘daylight’.

In an unprecedented move, the DG ISI joined Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) DG Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar in a press conference and responded to the allegations leveled against the institutions ahead of the much-talked long march of PTI chairman Imran Khan to be started on Friday from Lahore.

“If he [COAS Bajwa] is a traitor, Mir Jafar or Mir Sadiq, why did Khan offer him extension for an indefinite period? … if he [COAS Bajwa] is a traitor, why he holds meeting behind the doors? It is not possible that you meet him [COAS Bajwa] at night and then call him a traitor in the day.”

To a question about recent meetings of Imran Khan with COAS Bajwa, he confirmed that President Arif Alvi had facilitated the meetings with a view to lessening the political instability. However, the meetings remained futile, he added.

At the outset, the DG ISI explained his surprising and unprecedented appearance at the presser saying, he was addressing the presser not for his personal sake but for the sake of the institution.

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“Though the government and DG ISPR have always represented our point of view, but since there are numerous things which I can tell directly in a better way instead of telling them to present the institution’s position…as a head of this agency [ISI], I cannot remain silent when it is targeted for no reason and when the lies are spreading like anything,” he added.

He said that the nation had given him the responsibility to take secrets to the grave, adding “but when and where I will feel necessary, I will bring those facts to light”.

Talking about the officers martyred in Lasbela, he said that they were mocked. Therefore, it is highly condemnable to speak without proof, he said, adding that words like “neutral and janwar (animal)” were meant to illustrate that the institution was indulging in sedition.

He claimed that these words were used as the institution refused to accept an “unconstitutional and illegal act.”

He said the institution could have made mistakes but they decided to be apolitical. “We had been interfering but no more,” he said that this decision was taken by all the officers who still have 15 to 20 years of their career remaining.

Last year, the establishment decided that it would restrict itself to its constitutional role […], he said while adding that “the army had an intense discussion and we reached the conclusion that the country’s benefit lies in us restricting ourselves to our constitutional role and remaining out of politics.”

He said that in March, there was “a lot of pressure” but the institution and the army chief decided to limit the military to its constitutional role.

If Gen Bajwa wanted, the DG ISI added, he could have spent the last few months of his tenure comfortably but he made sacrifices in the country’s best interest, adding that the army chief’s family was also targeted.

“Pakistan is a democratic country and deciding [about its] friends and foes is the domain of democratically elected government. The institution’s role is to present their analysis on the basis of their information. The decision will be the government’s,” he added. He said politics of hatred created instability and lamented that this was divisive in society.

The ISI chief said that when he was appointed, he was asked about the country’s main issue, adding “I said it was our economic woes, but those who asked the question did not agree. In their view, the opposition was the biggest problem.” While talking about the slain journalist Arshad Sharif, he said that he had no life threats in Pakistan, adding Sharif was a competent, hardworking and able journalist.

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“Some quarters may have differences with his political views but his dedication for work is undeniable. When he went abroad, he was still in contact with the establishment,” he added.

The DG ISI said that he was in contact with his Kenyan counterpart regarding the probe, adding that initial investigations said it was a case of mistaken identity.

“Perhaps we and the government are not fully convinced. That’s why the government has formed a team that will head to Kenya.”

Responding to a question, he said that the representatives of ISI and MI were dropped from the government’s probe team to ensure a “fair probe” into the killing of journalist.

However, he said that the agencies will provide whatever assistance the team would require during investigation.

“Whatever conclusion is reached, the DG ISPR will inform you about it.”

To another question about the journalist receiving threats from the ISI, he reiterated that Sharif had “good contacts” with his subordinates. He also said that if the establishment did not want the journalist to leave the country, he would not be able to do so.

“We had no personal enmity with him. He had old contacts with our officers. Other journalists also say they receive calls. This is a lie,” he said, adding that there were apps that allowed the caller to conceal their identity.

While briefing the media, DG ISPR Gen Iftikhar said the purpose of the media talk was to shed light on the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya and the circumstances surrounding it.

“This press conference is being held in the context of presenting facts so that facts, fiction and opinion can be differentiated,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had been especially informed about the sensitivity of the presser.

Besides, it is necessary to determine the factors due to which a particular narrative is being built and people are being misled, he added.

“An attempt was made to create a divide in society,” he said.

Sharif’s death was an “unfortunate incident” and called him an “icon of journalism in Pakistan,” adding that he was a son of military officer, brother of an army officer and brother in law of a serving officer.

Gen Iftikhar said Sharif’s popularity was based on being an investigative journalist and when the cypher incident happened, which PTI chief Imran Khan brought in the limelight as evidence of a foreign conspiracy to oust his government, he conducted several programmes on the issue.

“He [Sharif] held several meetings with the former premier and interviewed him...as a result, it was stated that he was shown meeting minutes and the cypher,” he added.

“The facts behind the cypher and Sharif’s death have to be determined,” he added.

Talking about the cypher, he said that the army chief had discussed it with Imran on March 11 in which he had termed it a routine thing and “not a big thing.”

“It was surprising for us when on March 27 a piece of paper was waved and an attempt was made to build a narrative that was far from reality,” he said.

He said that several facts had come to light regarding the cypher revealing the “baseless and unfounded” narrative surrounding it.

The ISPR informed the National Security Committee that no proof was found regarding the conspiracy against the PTI government, he said, adding that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) also did not find any evidence regarding the conspiracy.

“This is all part of the record. We wanted to bring this to the public. And we left the decision to the then government.”

However, this did not happen and more rumours were spread for political mileage, he said, adding that Pakistan Army was also targeted.

At this time, Sharif and other journalists were fed a particular narrative and an attempt was made to defame Pakistan and the country’s institutions across the world, he said.

Talking about the details, he said ARY News played the role of a spin doctor in targeting the army and promoting a false narrative […] the NSC meeting was presented in the wrong context, he maintained.

Gen Iftikhar stated that the army was expected to intervene in domestic politics.

“The word neutral and apolitical was turned into an abuse. To all this baseless narrative, the army chief and the institution showed restraint and we tried our level best that politicians sit together to resolve their issues,” he added.

He noted that Sharif made strong comments regarding the army during this time but added that “we did not have any negative sentiments about him and we don’t have such feelings now.”

He claimed that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on August 5 issued a threat letter on the directives of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan which stated that a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) splinter group was looking to target Sharif.

“In this regard, no info was shared with the institutions who provided them the information,” he said, adding, “This shows the threat alert was issued with the aim to force Sharif to leave the country.”

“There were reports that he (Sharif) did not want to leave the country but he kept being reminded that he was facing a threat” to his life,” he said.

He said on August 8, Shahbaz Gill’s statement on ARY News regarding the country’s institutions was condemned and the politician was arrested a day later as that was the “red line”.

He said that when ARY News head Ammad Yousuf was arrested in August, it emerged that ARY CEO Salman Iqbal had asked the former to send Sharif abroad as soon as possible.

The DG ISPR stated that a manager in the ARY Group booked a ticket for Sharif for Dubai, according to which he was supposed to be back on September 9.

“On Aug 10, he left Peshawar airport through EK-637 for Dubai. He was provided complete protocol by the KP government,” he said, adding that the late journalist was escorted by KP officers to the airport.

“Arshad remained in the UAE until he had a valid visa. He left for Kenya when his visa for Dubai expired.”

He said that no one “forced” Sharif to leave Dubai at the government level and questioned who exactly forced him to leave.

He also questioned who processed the journalist’s documents in the UAE, who looked after his accommodation, who forced him to not return to Pakistan and who assured him that he was safe in Kenya.

He also questioned who was in contact with Sharif from Pakistan and who was hosting him in Kenya.

“Kenyan police accepted their mistake and it has to be examined whether this is a case of mistaken identity or one of targeted killing. There are several questions that have to be answered,” he said, calling for a “transparent and fair probe”.

Therefore, the government has been requested to form a high-level inquiry commission, he said. The DG ISPR said the name of the ARY CEO was surfacing again and again. “He should be brought back to Pakistan and made part of the investigation.”

He said that after Sharif’s death, people had started pointing fingers at the army. “It has to be determined who exactly benefitted from his killing.”

“It’s your responsibility now unearth the facts and bring them to light. We have to wait for the report from the inquiry commission. Until the report is released, it is not appropriate to make allegations.”

He said Pakistan was a “dignified and independent nation,” urging people to “have belief in your institutions.” “No one wants to be labelled a traitor after serving for 30-40 years. We can be weak, we can make mistakes, but we can never be a traitor or conspirator.”

Responding to a question, he said the government if called the army under Article 245, the army will follow the orders.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022