Tensions between Imran Khan and the Pakistani army escalate.
General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry’s strong statements during a press conference at the army headquarters today indicate the depth of the differences between the army and the main opposition faction in Pakistan, led by Imran Khan’s party (Justice Movement, PTI).
Just a day after the appointment of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, the commander of the Pakistani army, while retaining his position as the head of the defense forces, the country’s opposition, led by the Justice Movement Party, took a stand against this high-ranking military appointment.
Pakistan’s ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has been in prison since the summer of 2023, accused the current army chief of breaking the law and the bloody repression of the opposition in his latest message to his supporters on the social network X.
He went on to claim that the military government was interfering in political arrests and detentions, including filing cases against officials of the Justice Movement Party, an accusation that the Pakistani army spokesman denied during his press conference today.
General Ahmed Sharif, without mentioning Imran Khan by name, said that the person in prison is nothing more than a mentally ill person and that his actions are aimed at inciting people against the armed forces and harming Pakistan.
He claimed that Imran Khan is a serious threat to the country’s national security, while the Pakistani army will never allow internal chaos under the pretext of political resistance and artificially inciting people against the armed forces.
The Pakistani army spokesman accused the ousted prime minister of his country of colluding with hostile foreign forces and taking steps contrary to national interests.
Imran Khan and his party (Pakistan Justice Movement) consider the nature of all judicial and security cases against him and other members of this party to be political and accuse the government of taking revenge on the opposition.
Imran, who held the position of prime minister from the summer of 2018 to Farvardin 1401, has been in prison since the summer of 2019 on charges in numerous financial, political and security corruption cases.