ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army, Monday, expressed displeasure over the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s recent statement against the military and said it was “aghast” over it.

The PTI chairman and former Prime Minister Khan during a public rally in Faisalabad alleged that the government was delaying the elections to appoint an army chief of its own when the incumbent retires in November.

“Pakistan Army is aghast at the defamatory and uncalled-for statement about its senior leadership by the former premier,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

The military’s media wing said that regrettably, an attempt was made to discredit and undermine the senior leadership of the army at a time when the institution is laying lives for the security and safety of the people every day.

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The army said that senior politicians trying to stir controversies over the appointment of the COAS, the procedure for which is well defined in the constitution, is most unfortunate and disappointing.

The ISPR said the senior leadership of the army has decades-long impeccable meritorious service to prove its patriotic and professional credentials beyond any doubt.

Politicising the senior leadership of the Pakistan Army and scandalising the process of selection of the COAS is neither in the interest of the state of Pakistan nor of the institution, the ISPR noted. “Pakistan Army reiterates its commitment to uphold the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” the military’s media wing added.

The army’s statement came a day after Khan alleged at a rally that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his allies “want their man because they have stolen away money,” while referring to the appointment of the army chief. “They fear that if a strong, patriotic army chief is appointed, he will question them,” Khan alleged.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022