Writes letter to Alvi: Imran calls for probe into press conference of ISI chief

ISLAMABAD: In a strongly-worded letter to President Dr Arif Alvi, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday demanded an inquiry into a presser by director general Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), saying how the head of the country’s premier intelligence agency can do a public press conference.

In a letter dated November 06 – a copy of which is available with Business Recorder– while referring to a presser held last month by DG ISI Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, and director general Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar, he questioned: “Two related questions that should also be examined are: i) how the head of Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency can do a public press conference, ii) how can two military bureaucrats do a highly political press conference”.

Khan urged the president to take note of “serious wrongdoings” which were undermining the country’s national security. He also asked Dr Alvi to identify the “guilty” and hold them accountable.

“We have been seeing a massive abuse of citizens at the hands of ‘rogue elements’ within State organisations including custodial torture and abductions all carried out with impunity,” he added.

He continued that “you hold the highest office of state and I am requesting you to act now to stop the abuse of power and violations of our laws and of the constitution, which ensures the fundamental rights of every citizen”.

Khan said that since the ouster of his party’s government, the nation began rising to his call for “Haqeeqi Azadi”, his party has been confronted with an ever-increasing scale of false allegations, harassment, arrests, and custodial torture.

The former prime minister claimed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, and Maj Gen Faisal DG C ISI are involved in what he called the plot to assassinate him, and demanded they be sacked.

“The interior minister has repeatedly issued death threats to me and I was informed of a plot to assassinate me having been hatched by PM Shahbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Maj Gen Faisal DG C ISI. The plot was operationalised earlier this week during our long march but Allah saved me and the assassination attempt failed,” he added.

Khan said, “my appeal to you today is not just as the head of the state but also as the Supreme Commander of the armed forces under Article 243 (2) of our Constitution to take note of the following serious wrongdoings that undermine Pakistan’s national security and to institute an inquiry under your leadership to identify the guilty and hold them accountable:

1- A breach of the Official Secrets Act occurred when confidential conversation between myself as prime minister, the chief of army staff (COAS) and the DG ISI on a supposedly secure line was “leaked” to the media. This raises a very serious question as to who or what organisation was involved in doing a clearly illegal wiretap of the PM’s secure phone line? This is a breach of national security at the highest level”.

“2- The issue of the cipher sent by our ambassador to the US in which the US official conveyed a direct threat of regime change to our envoy who reported the same in quotes as was conveyed to him. The NSC meeting held on this issue during my tenure as PM clearly decided this was an unacceptable intrusion into our internal matters and the NSC (National Security Committee) decided on a demarche to be issued MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to the US envoy in Islamabad. This NSC decision as minuted was reaffirmed by the NSC meeting held under the Shehbaz Sharif government”.

In view of this, the former prime minister recalled that a joint press conference held on 27 October 2022 by the DGISI and the DG ISPR that had the former contradicting the decision made by the NSC under two governments and stating that the message of the US government conveyed by our envoy in Washington DC in the Cipher was not an unacceptable intrusion into our internal affairs but simply a case of “misconduct”.

“The question that needs to be examined is how two military bureaucrats can publicly contradict a decision of the NSC? This also raises the serious issue of these military bureaucrats deliberately trying to create a false narrative,” he maintained.

He questioned that “how can two military bureaucrats do a highly political press conference targeting the leader of the largest and perhaps the only federal political party in Pakistan today”.

“The parameters of a military information organisation such as the ISPR also need to be clearly defined and limited to information relating to defence and military issues. As Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces I call on you to initiate the drawing up of these clear operational lines for the ISPR,” he maintained.

He said that the president as head of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan must protect its democracy and its Constitution, adding no person or state institution can be above the law of the land.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022