Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s recent statement about Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir is a reflection of his “diseased and obsessive mindset”.

In a statement today, the PM said the nation stands behind the armed forces and will thwart any nefarious attempts aimed at undermining them.

The PM further said that as director of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), General Munir had unearthed the “corruption syndicate of Niazi” and this is why Imran was maligning COAS Munir.

On Friday, Imran said that if he gets re-elected as prime minister, he will “not de-notify” the army chief.

Taking to journalists inside the courtroom of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), he said: “There is no rule of law in the country and it is run by only one man and that’s the Army chief [Asim Munir]”.

Khan also vowed that if he gets re-elected as the Pakistan PM he will “not de-notify” the army chief, adding that “the army chief [Asim Munir] is feeling a bit insecure as I’d removed him as director-general Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). I will ‘not de-notify’ him when I come to power.”

To a question whether it is a battle of survival between him and the powerful military establishment, he reiterated: “No, it’s just one man and that’s the army chief.”

When asked whether he has any regrets over getting the support of the military in 2018 general elections to come into power, the firebrand Khan plainly stated that “my party was never brought into power by the military.”

Meanwhile, the PM in his tweet said that Imran’s statement was also an admission of masterminding the tragic and disgraceful incidents of terrorism undertaken by the PTI’s goons at his behest.

“The desecration of the martyrs’ monuments and attack on the national installations represent an unimaginable low in our politics.

“The nation stands behind its forces and will thwart any nefarious attempts undermining them.”