ISLAMABAD Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday lambasted the briefing of DG ISPR, accusing him of twisting facts and undermining democracy.
Speaking at a briefing, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, flanked by secretary general Salman Akram Raja and senior leader Asad Qaiser, said the party would not “respond with hostility” but insisted the public must know “what has been done to us.”
Gohar said the accusations overlooked ‘political engineering’ PTI has faced since the disputed elections of February 2024. “With 180 seats, we were forced down to 91. We even lost our home seat,” he said. He added that although their party founder has long regarded the army as an integral national institution, the establishment has now become an obstacle to restoring democratic normality.
He described the DG ISPR’s language as “deeply saddening,” saying anonymous actors “want to pit us against one another” while blocking dialogue and flooding courts with cases that prevent any political reset.
PTI secretary-general Salman Akram Raja said Pakistan has been pushed into oppression under the recurring pretext that the country needs “force” for national progress. “We know what happened afterwards and Karachi saw bodies stuffed in gunny bags,” he said.
He warned that Pakistan’s drift towards authoritarianism at a moment of global realignment, with countries squeezed to choose between Chinese and American spheres of influence.
Raja also accused elements of the state of exceeding constitutional authority.
He reiterated Qauid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s warning that the military must remain out of politics: “At this rate, democracy will be seriously damaged.”
Both Gohar and Raja warned that recent constitutional amendments have weakened the courts, leaving the country with a “paralysed judiciary” and a parliament devoid of meaningful opposition.
They said their multiparty opposition alliance plans to convene a national conference in the coming days to chart a response. “Imran Khan is not a national security threat,” Raja said. “But democracy may not survive if this continues.”
Qaiser, a former National Assembly speaker said: “Anyone who dares call Imran Khan a security risk, I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
He insisted PTI wants “strong armed forces” but warned that political interference risks “turning the country into a turbine of instability.”
He said more than 64,000 criminal complaints and 34,000 arrests have been lodged against PTI workers since last year’s unrest, figures the party says underscore the scale of the crackdown. “Yet we still say this country is ours. Our seats were handed to other political parties. Is this respecting the vote,” he questioned.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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