ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday criticised Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for trying to damage the reputation of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir.
Taking to Twitter, the prime minister said, “PTI’s disgusting smear campaign against Chief of the Army Staff General Asim Munir at the behest of Imran Niazi is deserving of the strongest condemnation.”
As per the Prime Minister Office’s press release, the campaign against the COAS was intolerable and the continuation of a conspiracy against the national institutions, said the PM.
“This man Niazi is stooping to unprecedented lows in his desperation for power & going to the extent of damaging the country & undermining our armed forces & their leadership,” wrote PM Shehbaz on Twitter.
The prime minister rejected the demand of Imran Khan to hold the general elections before time. He said that the election would be held as per the schedule.
Shehbaz Sharif urged the overseas Pakistanis to not become the part of this dirty campaign launched by Imran Khan. He asked them to raise their voice against the “foreign-funded” campaign.
“Imran Khan is violating the constitution by dragging the institutions and their leadership into his dirty politics,” said the PM.
The prime minister also directed instructed the interior minister to strictly deal with those running campaign against the state institutes.
“The whole nation stands by its institutions and is united against miscreants,” the prime minister maintained.
Answering to the PM Shehbaz’s tweets, PTI senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry rejected the claims of PM by saying that such statements were meant to widen the divide between the people and the army chief.
Fawad in a tweet said: “Let me make it clear PTI has nothing to do with any slanderous campaign against Army Chief, rather we expect his good office to play role in normalising Pak politics by helping ECP to hold peaceful and transparent elections.”