"Don't Call COAS Taitor In Day Light After Meeting Him Behind Closed Doors In Night: DG ISI To Imran Khan

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Director General Inter Services Intelligence Lt General Nadeem Anjum has slammed PTI Chairman Imran Khan, saying that it is not possible that he can meet Arrmy Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in the darkness but call him "traitor" in the day.

RAWALPINDI: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Oct 27th, 2022) Director General Inter Services Intelligence Lt General Nadeem Anjum has slammed PTI Chairman Imran Khan, saying that it is not possible that he can meet Arrmy Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in the darkness but call him "traitor" in the day.

The DG ISI asked Imran Khan that if commander-in-chief is the traitor then he met him in the darkness.

"Meeting is your right but is is not possible that you meet him in the night and call him traitor in the day," said ISI Chief Nadeem Anjum while addressing a press conference. DG ISPR General Babar Iftikhar was also present there.

The DG ISI said that the military was called "neutral and an animal" after they became part of an "illegal" decision.

He stated that the refusal to do the "illegal job" was not the decision of a single person or army chief but of the whole institution.

The ISI chief said that the military has been under a lot of pressure since March but they decided to limit themselves to its constitutional role.

He stated that General Bajwa could have spent the last six months of his term in peace but he took the decision in favour of the country and institution.

The DG said that the former government offered army chief an extension for an indefinite period in his term in order to fail the no-trust motion but he turned down the offer.

He also surprised if the commander-in-chief was a traitor then "why was he praised endlessly in the recent past".

The DG ISI asked, "Why did you want to give an extension in his term, why do you still meet him secretly if the army chief is a traitor in your eyes,".

DG ISI said that when Sharif was in Pakistan, he was in contact with the institution and maintained contact even when he travelled abroad. He also shared that he is in contact with his Kenyan counterpart on the matter of his death.

General Anjum said they are not satisfied that is why the government has formed the inquiry team, adding that the members of his agency were deliberately removed from the inquiry committee.

Both generals held press conference in connection woth the death of senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya.

"The purpose of this press conference is to inform you about the death of prominent senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya and the circumstances surrounding it," said DG ISPR at the start of the press conference.

The DG ISPR said that the press conference is being done at a time when it is "important to present the facts correctly" so "fact, fiction and opinion" can be differentiated. He also said that the military's media wing has informed PM Shehbaz Sharif about the press conference.

The head of the military's media wing said that there is a need to examine the "under which a false narrative has been made and people have been misled".

While mentioning ARY news, the DG ISPR said that during the media trial the private tv channel acted as a spin doctor in spreading the false narrative against the Pakistan Army and leadership.

“Pakistan Army was expected of political interference which is against the Constitution. The word ‘neutral’ was made an abuse,” said the DG ISPR. He added that the institution and army chief showed extreme restraint and patience despite all this.

"We made every possible effort that these politicians sit together and solve national issues but it was not possible," said the DG ISPR. He added that Sharif, social media activists and others spoke about the cypher and very “serious” things were said about it.

"Arshad had been doing programmes on ARY which had serious criticism against the different institutions since December 27. But despite this, we did not have any negative feelings for him nor do we have it now," said the DG ISPR.

Lt Gen Iftikhar shared that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government issued a threat alert regarding Sharif on August 5, 2022. He added that this alert was issued on special directives of KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.

He said that the threat alert seemed like an act to force Sharif to leave the country.

"Salman Iqbal told [Senior Executive Vice President ARY News] Ammad Yousuf after Shahbaz Gill's arrest to send Arshad out of the country," he said, adding that the ARY CEO should be brought back to Pakistan and made part of the investigations into the death of the journalist.

"We all should wait for the formation of an inquiry commission. Have confidence in your institutions. We have been washing the mistakes of the past with blood for the last 20 years. We can make mistakes but we can't be traitors or conspirers," said the DG ISPR.

General Babar said, "Institutions, leadership and even the chief of army staff has been accused without a reason to create an extraordinary chaotic situation,".

Lt Gen Iftikhar said that Sharif's death was a "very tragic incident". He called the senior journalist an icon of Pakistani journalism, a martyr’s son and a martyr’s brother and a serving officer’s brother-in-law. His programmes will be seen as a role model for journalists, he added.

"Since Arshad was an investigative journalist, he also looked into the cypher issue when it surfaced," shared DG ISPR. He also highlighted that the journalist had also interviewed the then prime minister Imran Khan on the issue, adding that at the time it was claimed that he was shown the document.

He said that the facts linked with the cypher and Arshad Sharif’s death need to be found. So there is no ambiguity left in this regard.

The DG ISPR also pointed out that the army chief discussed the cypher with the PTI chief at Kamra, adding that Imran Khan had said it himself that the document "was not a big deal".

“It was surprising for us when Imran Khan in March 27 rally flashed the paper in an effort to give a narrative which was not linked with the reality in any way was made in a dramatic way,” said the DG ISPR.

Lt Gen Iftikhar said that several facts regarding the cypher have surfaced, so far, which have exposed the "hollow and fabricated story". He went on to say that the opinion of a Pakistani envoy was used by the former prime minister for his political interests.

The military spokesperson said that the ISI in a "very clear and professional way" informed the national Security Committee that they had found no evidence of any type of conspiracy against the government. He said that the NSC was briefed that it was the envoy’s personal assessment and the strategy envoy had recommended, the NSC recommended the same strategy to the Foreign Office.

"ISI’s findings related to the cypher didn’t have any evidence for any type of conspiracy,” he said, adding that all these findings are on record. He added that the military wanted these findings to be put before the nation but they left the decision to the PTI-led government, but it was not done.

“Instead, more false news and rumours were spread in order to take political benefit and to create a specific narrative the no-confidence motion was a part of regime change operation instead of a constitutional, political and legal affair,” said the DG ISPR.

Pakistan’s institutions and especially the army leadership was targeted and it was linked with treason and regime change operation," said Lt Gen Iftikhar. He shared that during this time Sharif and other senior journalists were fed with a specific narrative.

Abdullah Hussain

Abdullah Hussain is a staff member who writes on politics, human rights, social issues and climate change.