The most pressing question of course was regarding the military’s stance on the PTI government’s claim—and now campaign slogan—that there was a foreign conspiracy to oust former PM Imran Khan. To put an end to all the theories and rumours that have been doing the rounds, the spokesperson unequivocally clarified that the NSC endorsed no such claim and that the word “conspiracy” was not mentioned in the communique issued after the meeting. This of course is contrary to what members of the PTI have been claiming, and it appears that the party plans on continuing this strategy of fabricating conspiracies as a re-election strategy even after the ISPR press conference.
Major General Babar Iftikhar went on to add that the issuance of demarches is not specific to hatching conspiracies and can also be given for other reasons. In this case, he argued that it was issued for undiplomatic language and is tantamount to interference. What is important to understand here is the distinction between the words “interference” and “conspiracy”; the latter is equivalent to an outright attempt to try and make a change in government as the PTI is claiming while the former refers to US officials talking about matters that they have no business discussing.
To further dispel any speculation regarding the military’s role in the ongoing crisis, the spokesperson stated that the word ‘apolitical’ better describes the institution’s stance, as opposed to neutral. He added that there had always been demands that the army should have no role in politics, and today this is being given a real form.
This press conference is important not just because of the current crisis, but also in terms of instilling confidence in the democratic process and future of the country. The conviction with which the questions relating to the possibility of martial law were answered was extremely encouraging as it was made clear that such an option does not exist anymore, whatsoever the circumstances.
Continuing to further rumours and narratives that come at the expense of bilateral relations with a key country and internal stability is an extremely irresponsible and short-sighted strategy. In reference to Imran Khan’s preposterous assertion that the country’s nuclear assets are unsafe under the new leadership, the DG ISPR was right in roundly dispelling this ill-sighted comment and pointing out that caution must be exercised when discussing such subjects. The trend of unfounded assertions on part of the former government must stop and the hope is that better sense prevails.