ISLAMABAD, Oct 28(ABC): PTI Chairman Imran Khan Thursday slammed the top brass of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) for holding a press conference while repeatedly claiming to be apolitical.
“They held a press conference after claiming that they have distanced themselves from politics,” Khan said during an interview with a private news channel.
“The press conference was not on security issues. It was a political presser,” he said, adding that the county will suffer if he responds to the press conference.
Hostile forces want our army to be weak, Khan said, reiterating that he did not say anything that would harm the army.
“If I respond to the press conference, it will be directed at the army and I don’t want to hurt them in any way,” he added.
Earlier today, Director-General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum took a jibe at the Khan saying that “if the commander-in-chief is a traitor then why did you [Khan] meet him in hiding?”
“Meeting [him] is your right but it cannot be possible that you meet him at night and call [him] a traitor in the day,” stated the DG ISI.
Lt Gen Anjum had said that the military was called “neutral and an animal” as they had committed treason by refusing to be part of an “illegal” decision. He said that the refusal to do the “illegal job” was not the decision of a single person or army chief but of the entire institution.
Regarding constant criticism of him calling them “neutrals”, Khan said that personalities make mistakes but “I want to save the institutions.”
“They accuse me of holding talks behind closed doors then they should also share details of those talks,” Khan said, adding that he heard about the army chief’s extension. “If they can offer an extension, we [PTI] could have also offered him an extension.”
‘PTI will not enter Red Zone’
Responding to questions about his party’s “Haqeeqi Azadi March” slated to kick off on Friday (tomorrow), Khan said that his party would not enter Islamabad’s Red Zone during the protest, adding that the march will remain peaceful.
PTI will kickstart its long march towards Islamabad from Lahore’s Liberty Chowk at 11am on Friday. Khan will reach Islamabad on November 4 after commuting through Muridke, Kamonki, Gujranwala, Daska, Sialkot, Sambaryal, Wazirabad, Gujarat, Lala Musa, Kharian, Jhelum, Gujar Khan, and Rawalpindi.
Talking about Faisal Vawda, Khan said: “I have seen people closely. Those who were once close to me are now part of the other side because of the difficult times.”
Expressing his regret, the PTI leader said that he knew at whose request Vawda held a presser.
A day earlier, the ex-minister said that PTI’s long march would “witness bloodshed, death, and funerals”. He had said that “important and common” people’s deaths will take place in the long march, adding that there were “ulterior motives” behind the march to Islamabad.
Answering a question about the alleged custodial torture and stripping of aged PTI leader Azam Khan Swati, Khan said the move dishonoured the country and the army.
Moving on to the regime change conspiracy, the PTI leader said that he was already receiving reports and knew about the conspiracy.
“I had told [Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed] Bajwa that the economy will suffer if the conspiracy succeeds,” he added.