On Monday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) firmly objected to recent comments made by PTI Chairman Imran Khan questioning the choice of the new army chief, stating that it was “aghast at the slanderous and uncalled for” statement.
Unfortunately, there has been an effort to undermine and discredit the Pakistan Army’s senior leadership at a time when the institution is losing lives daily to ensure the security and safety of its citizens.
The ISPR criticised senior lawmakers for seeking to incite controversy over the nomination of the chief of army staff (COAS), whose process is clearly outlined in the constitution.
The top leadership of the army, it said, had a decades-long, spotless, and meritorious service to demonstrate their credentials as professionals and patriots beyond a shadow of a doubt.
“Politicizing the Pakistan Army’s top leadership and scandalising the appointment of [the] COAS is neither in the institution’s nor the country’s best interests. “The Pakistan Army maintains its commitment to preserving the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s constitution,” the statement continued.
The announcement follows Imran’s assertion, made during a rally inin Faisalabad that the PPP and PML-N opposed new elections because they wanted to “appoint an army chief of their choice” in November to protect their reputations in corruption cases.They want to deploy their own army commander…
They are concerned that a strong and patriotic army head may question them about the stolen cash, according to the former prime minister.
The army commander should be “chosen on merit… whoever is on the top of the merit list should be appointed,” Imran asserted, adding that “they are sitting [in the government] since they want to bring in an army chief of their choice through cooperative efforts.”
