A senior security official Sunday said the armed forces have nothing to do with any political process in the country and termed the emerging trend of targeting state institutions and dragging these into political rivalries, as “totally uncalled-for.”
“Nawaz Sharif’s attack on military leadership is in fact an attack on the Pakistan Army. This is the same what Narendra Modi is talking about,” the senior official said.
“Indian newspapers are praising Nawaz Sharif and giving extraordinary coverage to his anti-army statements. Nawaz Sharif is playing in the hands of the enemies of Pakistan,” the official who desired not to be named, said.
The comments came days after Pakistan-Muslim League-Nawaz supremo Nawaz Sharif hurled baseless allegation against military leadership at a rally of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) in Gujranwala.
“A convicted proclaimed offender while illegally sitting in London is commenting on armed forces of Pakistan which are guarantor of peace and stability in the country and who have laid down thousands of lives in defending the motherland,” the official said.
“Even at the time when Nawaz Sharif was using derogatory language against Pakistan Army in Gujranwala, funeral prayers of 20 of its valiant soldiers were being offered, who had embraced martyrdom in separate incidents of terrorism in Balochistan and KP,” he pointed.
He said that army officials right from lieutenant general, brigadier and even head of intelligence agencies to soldiers had faced bullets and laid lives in the war against terrorism in the past 20 years.
The senior official paid rich tributes to the security forces for rendering sacrifices for the protection of the motherland and said the entire nation was standing with its armed forces.
Criticizing the insulting narrative about the armed forces, the official said the PML-N leadership must not indulge in dangerous games at the behest of the enemies of the country as their agenda was doomed to fail.
He said the PML-N was trying to create divisions not only between the ranks and files of the armed forces, but also between different state institutions, an agenda which was in total conformity with that of Narendra Modi.
He said anti-state elements and enemies of Pakistan were targeting the law enforcement agencies through bullets while the PML-N was doing the same job through use of derogatory language and baseless allegations.
The official said that the opposition has a full right to protest in a democracy however pointed that in the garb of freedom, the nefarious agenda of maligning the national institutions could not be tolerated at any cost.
He said any politician hatching conspiracy against the armed forces of Pakistan could not be termed a well-wisher of the country. Those on their personal agendas would have to confront the 220 million Pakistanis who were the main source of strength for their armed forces.
