Political intervention in favour of someone cannot work anymore: DG ISPR
RAWALPINDI (92 News) - DG ISPR Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar said that allegations are being levelled as the army chief and the institution refused to do unconstitutional work.
Addressing a press conference with DG ISI Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum on Thursday, he said that political intervention in favour of someone cannot work anymore. "Protest and long march is the constitutional right of everyone. But we will not allow anyone to destabilize the country," he declared.
The DG ISPR said that it was not their prerogative to arrest anyone. "The Army will do whatever it can do while remaining in the constitutional limits. In March, the army chief was offered extension for an indefinite period. But it was decision of the institution, not an individual, to be away from politics. The appointment of the army chief will be made as per constitution," he added.
Cypher a fabricated and baseless story
Terming the cypher a fabricated and baseless story, Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar said that the former prime minister had waved a piece of paper during a public meeting that was surprising. "The ISI found no evidence of any conspiracy The opinion of the ambassador was used for personal objectives," he maintained.
He said that a wrong news about the National Security Council (NSC) meeting was aired. "Everything was linked to treason and the regime change. We wanted to make the facts public, but then government did not let us to do so. We can be weak, but not traitor or conspirator," he added.
Baseless allegations levelled against army chief
The DG ISPR said that baseless allegations were levelled against the army chief and leadership of the institutions. "It is mandatory to reach out to the motives of the murder. There was no information about any threat to the life of Arshad Sharif. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa issued a security threat and its objective could be to force Arshad Sharif to go abroad," he argued.
He said that the question arises who were in contact with Arshad Sharif. "Who assured him that his life is safe in Kenya? A third party could be involved in the incident. We should wait for the report of the inquiry commission," he added.
Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar demanded that Salman Iqbal should be investigated in this regard.
Silence of truth is not good
DG ISI Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum said that the silence of truth is not good when there is a threat of anarchy. "Why do you meet behind the closed doors if the army chief is a traitor? It is your right to meet him, but it is not right to meet him at night and term him a traitor in the morning," he stated.
He said that they were termed as Mir Jaffar and Mir Sadiq as well as neutral for refusing to do an illegal work. "Mockery of our martyrs was made. We tried our best to make politicians to resolve the problems, but it could not be done," he added.
Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum said that lie is so much rampant that the youth are continuously accepting it. "We must be held accountable. There should be a criteria whether I am doing a right thing for the country or not."
He questioned whether Arshad Sharif could go abroad if the establishment wanted to stop him. "We have information about Arshad Sharif, but cannot make it public. We should wait for the investigations instead of levelling allegations," he added.
The DG ISI said that Arshad Sharif was in contact with the institution. "He remained in touch when he went abroad. He wanted to return to Pakistan," he stated.
