Pakistan Army warns against deliberate attempts to drag military into politics

Islamabad, May 8

The Pakistani military on Sunday warned politicians, journalists and analysts against dragging Pakistan Army and its leadership in the country’s political affairs, saying that the practice is “extremely damaging”, reports said.

“Recently there have been intensified and deliberate attempts to drag Pakistan’s Armed Forces and their leadership in ongoing political discourse in the country,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement, Express Tribune reported.

“These attempts are manifest through direct, insinuated or nuanced references to Armed Forces as well as their senior leadership, made by some political leaders, few journalists and analysts on public forums and various communication platforms including social media.” The military’s media wing further said that this practice of unsubstantiated, defamatory and provocative statements /remarks is extremely damaging.

“Pakistan Armed Forces take strong exception to such unlawful and unethical practice and expect all to abide by the law and keep the Armed Forces out of political discourse in the best interest of the country,” it added.

The statement comes amid the heightened political activity in the country triggered by the ouster of PTI-led government through a vote of no-confidence last month with both former PM Imran Khan and ruling PML-N kicking off mass public campaigns.

IANS