Nawaz targeting state institutions on Modi’s behest: Senior official

ISLAMABAD: The emerging trend of targeting state institutions and dragging those into political rivalries is totally uncalled for as armed forces have nothing to do with any political process in the country, a senior security official said on Sunday.

“Nawaz Sharif’s attack on military leadership is in fact attack on the Pakistan Army. This is the same thing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is talking about," he said. “Indian newspapers are praising Nawaz Sharif and giving extraordinary coverage to his anti-army statements. PML-N’s agenda is gradually coming before the masses. Nawaz Sharif is playing in the hands of the enemies of Pakistan,” the official said.

The comments were made days after Pakistan-Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif hurled baseless allegation against the military leadership at a rally of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) in Gujranwala.

“A convicted proclaimed offender while illegally sitting in London is commenting on the 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 senior official said.

“Even at the time when Nawaz Sharif was using derogatory language against the 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 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he maintained.

The army officials right from lieutenant general, brigadier and even head of intelligence agencies to soldiers had faced bullets and laid down lives in the war against terrorism during the last 20 years, he added.

The official also paid rich tribute to the security forces for sacrificing their lives for the protection of the homeland and said the entire nation was standing with the armed forces and saluted them.

Criticizing the insulting narrative about the army, the official warned that 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 and clash between higher ranked and lower ranked officials of the Pakistan Army as well as among different state institutions, which was in total conformity with Narendra Modi’s agenda.

He said the anti-state elements and enemies of Pakistan were targeting the law enforcement agencies through bullets while the PML-N was doing the same job by using derogatory language and hurling baseless allegations.

The official said the opposition had the right to protest in a democracy but the nefarious agenda of maligning the national institutions could not be tolerated at any cost.

The politicians hatching a conspiracy against the armed forces of Pakistan could not be the well-wishers of the country, he said, adding the 220 million Pakistanis stood by their armed forces.