ISLAMABAD - Pakistan military on Thursday deemed the detailed judgment in the high treason case against former army chief General (r) Pervez Musharraf against “humanity and religion”.
Major General Asif Ghafoor, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), while addressing a short press conference hours after the special court issued detailed judgment in the treason case, said the military had expressed its reservations after Musharraf was sentenced to death by the special court for high treason.
He said after detailed judgment in the case “those reservations have proven to be true”. The DG said the detailed judgment, especially the selection of language and words, “is beyond the basic values of humanity, religion and culture”.
The DG ISPR did not take any questions after the presser.
Following the short order of the Special Court on December 17, ISPR had issued a statement, saying the “decision given by special court has been received with lot of pain and anguish by rank and file of Pakistan Armed Forces”. Major General Asif Ghafoor said the Pakistan armed forces are an organised institution and its members have taken the oath to sacrifice their lives for the defence of the national security. “We have demonstrated it practically in the past 20 years [and] achieved what no other country or army in the world could achieve,” he added.
He said the country was facing a hybrid war. “We are fully aware of this changing nature and character of war. We also understand the enemy, its facilitators, supervisors and their possible designs,” he told the media persons.
DG ISPR believed the country is currently facing threats from both internal and external sources. “Some people want to provoke us through internal and external attacks into fighting amongst ourselves and are dreaming of defeating Pakistan in this manner,” he said. “This will not happen. If we are aware of the threat, our response too is in place,” he claimed.
He quoted Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa as having said that the country has covered a long journey and rendered countless sacrifices to achieve its present stability. “We will not let this stability be reversed in any situation,” he vowed.
He said Pakistan Army is not just an institution rather it’s a family. He said the armed forces get strengthened by the people’s support. “We know how to defend the country and also know how to retain the respect and dignity of the institution. But for us, the country comes first and the institution second,” he said.
DG ISPR told media that Army Chief General Bajwa held a detailed conversation with Prime Minister Imran Khan to discuss the situation in the aftermath of the detailed verdict. He said General Bajwa and Prime Minister Imran Khan exchanged views on how to take the situation forward after the verdict, keeping in view the sentiments of the armed forces and Pakistanis.
He made it clear that the army and government have together been trying to take the country towards a direction where all threats are foiled. He also requested the nation to have faith in the armed forces.