Imran Khan responds to ISPR, says he has no reason to lie

Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday said he was chief of the country’s “largest” political party, and that he does not need to lie. He was responding to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) which on Monday condemned his “highly irresponsible and baseless allegations” against a serving senior military officer.

In the video shared on Twitter on Tuesday, the party leader said that he was departing for Islamabad as he was scheduled to appear before the courts.

“Firstly, the ISPR has issued a statement that the army has been disrespected by me naming an intelligence officer that has tried to kill me twice.

“ISPR sahib, listen to me carefully. Respect is not confined to a single institution; respect should be for every single citizen,” Imran said.

The former PM added that he was the chief of the country’s “largest” political party, and that he did not need to lie.

“This man tried to kill me twice and whenever an investigation is carried out, I will prove that it was this man and there is a whole gang with him,” he said.

“My question is: despite being a country’s ex-PM — because this man’s name has come forward — why was I unable to register a first information report?”

“If he was innocent, it would have been revealed,” the PTI chief said. He termed the officer in question to be such a “powerful personality” that he was unable to register a case despite being in power in Punjab.

Imran further said that two senior police officials had refused to become a part of the joint investigation team (JIT) formed by the Punjab government to investigate the attack on his life in Wazirabad. “Who was behind it? Who was this powerful?”

He alleged that when the JIT determined that three shooters were involved in the incident, the team itself was “sabotaged” and that four Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) officials changed their statements.

Imran also claimed that he would prove that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had taken over the Judicial Complex in Islamabad the night before he went to attend a hearing in the Toshakhana case in March.

“I will prove that ISI [officials] were present in CTD uniforms and lawyers’ garb. I will prove that a brigadier, who I will not name, was there to monitor everything. What was the ISI doing there?”

“It is my army, my Pakistan, not just yours. It is our army,” Imran said. The PTI chief also said the crackdown against those who were vocal about their criticism of the military establishment was, in fact, harming the institution.

The PTI chief went on to say that there was no need to call in a heavy contingent of police and other officials during his appearance before the courts in Islamabad today.

“If someone has a warrant, come to me directly, I am prepared to go to jail. Spending so much money as if a major criminal is coming to Islamabad. Do us a favor and don’t stage such a drama and directly provide a warrant,” he said.

He asserted that he was mentally prepared to go to jail.

In the tweet, Imran says attempts are being made by the coalition government to arrest him so he can be prevented from campaigning for elections and also to stop him from “mobilising the masses for street movement in support of Constitution if PDM govt & their handlers refuse to obey the SC (Supreme Court) and violate Constitution on holding of elections.”

The issue of elections has been a contentious one, with PTI calling for immediate polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where assemblies have been dissolved.

The Supreme Court ordered that elections be held on May 14 in the two provinces, however, the issue is an ongoing one.

ISPR’s statement

On Monday, the ISPR had condemned Imran’s “highly irresponsible and baseless allegations” against a serving senior military officer and asked him to make recourse on legal forums instead of levelling “false allegations,”.

In a statement, the military’s media affairs wing said that the PTI chairman made “fabricated and malicious allegations” against a senior military officer without evidence.

“This has been a consistent pattern for last one year wherein military and intelligence agencies officials are targeted with insinuations and sensational propaganda for the furtherance of political objectives,” the ISPR said, and termed them as “extremely unfortunate, deplorable and unacceptable.”

“We ask the political leader concerned to make recourse to legal avenues and stop making false allegations,” the statement said, adding that the institution reserves the right to take legal action against patently false and malafide statements and propaganda.

PM Shehbaz criticises Imran

Earlier, PM Shehbaz Sharif criticised Imran Khan for “routinely maligning and threatening the Pakistan Army and Intelligence Agency for the sake of petty political gains.”

After an assassination attempt on the PTI chief in Wazirabad last year, Imran named three people and demanded their immediate removal from official posts.

In a series of tweets today, Imran hit back at PM Shehbaz, asking if he did not have the right to nominate those he felt were behind the assassination plot.

“Does SS [Shehbaz Sharif’s] tweet mean military officers are above the law or that they cannot commit a crime? If we allege one of them has committed a crime, how is the institution being maligned?” he asked.