Hours before a deeply embittered Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan responded to ISPR’s statement through which the latter had warned him of legal action over levelling baseless allegations against the army, he decided to hit back at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for accusing him of ‘maligning and threatening’ the Pakistan Army. According to the prime minister, “Imran Naizi’s act of routinely maligning and threatening the Pakistan army and intelligence agency for the sake of petty political gains is highly condemnable. His levelling of allegations without any proof against General Faisal Naseer and officers of our intelligence agency could not be allowed and would not be tolerated.”

However, in his responses to both the PM and ISPR, the incarcerated PTI founder has raised an identical question: “if we allege that one of the army officers has committed a crime, how is the institution being maligned?” That Imran Khan’s insistence with regard to his attackers carries a lot of weight in view of the fact it was he who was hit by four bullets in Wazirabad a few months ago is a fact. Having said that, I must say that Imran Khan has a bit of temper and can very often go overboard. But nobody should suspect his patriotism and his love and affection for Pakistan army as an institution. The prime minister had acted quite shrewdly with a view to cash in on the opportunity that Imran Khan had thrown up for him. Little did the prime minister know that no design or ploy can create a wedge between the PTI chairman and the army’s men and women and their families.

Najeeb Nakai (Gujranwala)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023