• Message from ex-PM accuses ISPR of building ‘false narrative’, calls on top brass to reconsider its policies
• COAS denies getting correspondence, says he will forward it to PM if received
ISLAMABAD: While incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan seems bent on communicating with the top military brass, the army chief indicated on Thursday that he would not engage with any such correspondence, but would rather forward it to the prime minister.
On Thursday, the contents of a third open letter purportedly addressed to Army Chief Gen Asim Munir on behalf of Mr Khan were shared on the former prime minister’s official X account.
However, the full text of the letter was not shared by the party, and it is not known whether the communique has formally been dispatched to the army chief, or the party is relying on mainstream and social media channels to convey its message to the powers that be.
When asked why a draft of the so-called open letter had not been shared with the media — as had been the case with recent letters written to an IMF delegation and the chief justice of Pakistan — a party insider told Dawn that the letter to the army chief “does not exist”.
“Imran Khan has been behind bars for 20 months and he cannot sign any documents. Mr Khan’s lawyer revealed the contents of the message outside Adiala jail and that is what was shared on social media,” the insider said.
In contents shared on the PTI founder’s X (formerly Twitter) account — which he does not personally have access to while in prison — Mr Khan accused Inter-Services Public Relations of building a false narrative, which he claimed was “bringing the armed forces into disrepute”.
“Repeating again and again that the army does not interfere in politics insults the nation’s intelligence,” said the post on Mr Khan’s X account, adding that every child in the country knows that the army chief effectively runs the country.
The latest message posted on behalf of the PTI leader stated that he did not seek any concessions for himself, but rather was concerned with restoring the reputation of the Pakistan Army. Contending that the gulf between the people and the armed forces was widening, the message claimed that the democracy has been derailed in Pakistan.
The message recalled that it was the establishment that had once told the nation that the ruling elite was involved in corruption, but regretted how “rejected faces had been imposed on the nation through rigged elections”.
Efforts are being made to paint cases against Sharif family and Asif Zardari as politically motivated, but the fact is that NAB initiated those cases, it said. Former ISI chief Gen Ehtesham Zamir and former president Farooq Leghari provided dossiers containing proof of corruption in these cases, the message said, which were filed long before the PTI’s tenure.
The only case filed under PTI rule was the Ramazan Sugar Mills case against Shehbaz Sharif, which has also been closed, it said, regretting that all the same faces had been imposed on Pakistan again after being dry-cleaned.
The incarcerated former prime minister’s message also claimed that after the PTI government was ousted, democracy was derailed through the imposition of a fake government, while the Constitution was violated and party symbol was snatched from PTI.
While the whole world has been progressing, Pakistan has been moving in opposite direction, the PTI founder’s message said, adding that these problems can only be solved by the people’s true representatives.
Mr Khan’s message also criticised the 26th amendment, alleging that handpicked judges were being appointed, leading to a collapse of the justice.
The message called on the establishment to reconsider its policies to “avoid further damage to the institution”.
