PTI under fire as political figures show solidarity with armed forces, assail party for alleged conspiracy
Lawmakers from across the political spectrum closed ranks behind Pakistan’s armed forces on Sunday, criticising the PTI for what they described as an orchestrated attempt to malign state institutions and an alleged conspiracy against Pakistan.
A day earlier, the PTI had lashed out at a press briefing by the military’s media wing, calling it “inappropriate and unfortunate” after the spokesperson accused incarcerated Imran Khan of being a “narcissist” and a “mentally ill person” who was edging into “security threat” territory through his persistent anti-army rhetoric.
Taking to the X platform, PML-N leader and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal called Imran’s political rhetoric “a deeply irresponsible and dangerous trend that seeks to undermine Pakistan’s state institutions, weaken national cohesion, and erode public trust in the armed forces who defend our borders with courage and sacrifice.”
“Political differences are part of any democracy—but when politics crosses the line into anti-state narrative building, deliberate misinformation, and attacks on the integrity of Pakistan’s Armed Forces and its leadership, it threatens the stability, security, and unity of the country,” he wrote.
Iqbal added that no leader had the right to weaponise divisive rhetoric for personal gain at the cost of Pakistan’s national security.
“The Pakistan Army is a professional, disciplined, and patriotic institution that has stood as the shield of this nation, from fighting terrorism to defending territorial sovereignty.
“Attempting to malign the armed forces or create discord between the people and their defenders serves only the agenda of Pakistan’s enemies,” he said, adding that he “strongly condemned Imran’s “continued politics of hate, distortion, and incitement against the state and state institutions.”
‘Another conspiracy against Pakistan?’ — MQM-P
The leadership of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) also called out the PTI for “deviating from a political route and resorting to the politics of the streets to cause instability in the country”.
“The PTI has continued its politics of hurling allegations, and instead of choosing the right forum to address those allegations, it used it to create political instability in the country,” MQM-P Chairman Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said during a press conference in Karachi.
“During this time, when all parliamentarians on both sides of the spectrum should have stood with the armed forces, the leadership of the armed forces, and the political leadership of the country, a campaign was instead initiated over the last two days, giving way to fears that there might be some foreign elements involved in all of this,” he said.
Siddiqui went on to say that all political parties could have different viewpoints and even different dreams for Pakistan’s future, “but whenever the country found itself in crisis, all political parties are seen to be standing together.”
“Even when PTI needed us, all political parties, including us, stood with them. Did we ever say we would not speak to political forces despite being part of the political force ourselves?” he questioned.
He continued: “So, I would also expect from the government that the anti-Pakistan rhetoric, and the campaign which is being led from outside Pakistan, should be carefully observed. Is this creating grounds for another conspiracy against Pakistan?”
He said that MQM-P, for the sake of Pakistan’s dignity, honour, respect, and prosperity, invites all political parties to come and sit together and talk about it.
“It is indeed the responsibility of all parties that if anyone is working against the interest of Pakistan, we should not only identify it, but also take action against it.
“Today, there is democracy in Pakistan, so democratic forces should together tackle those who, under the guise of democracy, are harming Pakistan owing to their ego or at someone’s direction. There is a need for a joint, united struggle against all such attempts.”
‘Propaganda against armed forces in line with hostile agencies’ agenda’: — Bugti
Balochistan Chief Minister and PPP leader Sarfaraz Bugti also assailed Imran for “spreading propaganda against the army and maligning them in line with the agenda of hostile agencies.”
Speaking during a press conference in Islamabad, he said that today, the nation needed to stand with its security forces more than ever before, as two provinces were facing a serious insurgency.
“In this situation, the nation has to choose, and the nation has chosen to stand with its forces. I can tell you about Balochistan, that the people of Balochistan have been with their forces, they are with the forces, and will be with the forces,” he asserted, adding that there was an urgent need to “abandon the narrative which was weakening the state.”
Referring to Imran, he said, “The popular leader you talk about, his kids are in London and on the other hand, every single day, people’s sons in the Pakistan Army — the captains, the majors, and the colonels are sacrificing their lives for the sake of the country’s security and for our future.
“Spreading propaganda against them and maligning them in line with the agenda of hostile agencies … this is an intelligence-driven war against Pakistan. Why are we becoming part of it? Our state should always be above our politics. Because if there is no state, there will be nothing.”
‘Had you listened to me then, we would not have anarchy, terrorism’: Hanif Abbasi
Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi assailed Imran during a press conference in Rawalpindi, calling him a “threat to national security” and stating that had his claims about the ex-premier receiving funding from India and Israel been taken seriously, Pakistan would not be in the state it is now.
“I filed a case against you,” Abbasi said, addressing the PTI founder and referring to a legal case about the PTI receiving foreign funding and “compromising” patriotism.
“I had said that the PTI was receiving Indian and Israeli money. This was proven. I took the foreign funding case to the Supreme Court,” he added. “Had the decision been made then and had he (Imran) been disqualified, then there would not be anarchy or terrorism.”
Echoing the words of Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the railways minister called Imran a “mental patient” and slammed him for a social media post against the armed forces. He also assailed Imran’s family for giving interviews to Afghan and Indian media.
“His children appear on Afghan media, his sisters appear on Indian media. What’s going on here?” Abbasi asked. “You (Imran) have not been punished or mistreated. You cannot handle jail, and you’re threatening national security.”
The minister added that Imran’s post targeted an entire institution rather than one person and added that since becoming an atomic power, Pakistan’s institutions have been targeted by foreign states.
“If you were only against one person, you’d pray for martyrs, you would not say that MNAs going into NDU (National Defence University) are traitors because they met officers,” Abbasi stated.
He then turned his attention to Imran’s sisters, who appeared on Indian media outlets to give interviews and were the target of criticism by the government for “defaming Pakistan”.
The minister stated that the PTI founder’s sisters “said that the whole of India is crying for Imran Khan” and slammed them for “worshipping” the powers that be.
“If they meet you, then all is good, but if they don’t, then you are ready to threaten our nation’s security,” Abbasi said.
“Your true face has been exposed in front of the world — you targeted your heroes,” he added. “If you are against one person, that’s fine, but you targeted monuments to martyrs, GHQ, Corps Commander House. You did what our enemies hoped to achieve.“
“My point is that I cannot understand how someone who plays with our national security is a Pakistani. They can be a traitor or a mental patient, but not a Pakistani.”
‘Politically charged’ press conference
During PTI’s Saturday press conference at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, PTI interim chairman Gohar Ali Khan said it was “unfortunate for democracy” that a senior officer would use such language against a major political party, its leadership, after the DG ISPR called Imran “a mental patient“ for his constant anti-army rhetoric.
Lt Gen Chaudhry said that whenever the PTI founder posted something on social media against the army chief, Indian media and the accounts linked to the Indian-intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) were making the posts viral.
“The Indian media is reporting against your army chief with such happiness. Who is providing this narrative to them? They air this narrative for hours. Why are they spending so much money on spreading the narrative of this delusional mindset of this narcissist? There is one reason, because he (Imran) is speaking against the army and its chief. He is talking about creating a rift between the Pakistani army and the public,” the DG ISPR said.
In response, Gohar said that “ego must be set aside, space given to one another, and efforts made to move in a positive direction, adding there was still time for tone to be eased and for steps to improve the current situation.”
The PTI chairman said that despite going through a rough patch during the last year, it stood with the nation and the military and lauded their role. He added that despite everything that happened with the passage of the 26th and 27th amendments, the party had hoped the situation might improve, but the ISPR chief’s press conference was “deeply disappointing”.
On the other hand, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said Imran was not a national security threat, but he had kept the people united.
“Do not drive away the people of Pakistan; they stand with Imran Khan and the PTI,” he said, adding that there were many narratives in the country, including along ethnic and sectarian lines, yet Imran had rejected all of them to stand with the narrative of Pakistan.
“For God’s sake, don’t do this. You will not be able to minus Imran Khan, but God forbid if you do, it will be very difficult to keep this country’s interests united.”
He termed the ISPR DG’s press conference “unfortunate” and added that the party will not answer the accusation and charges levelled against the PTI founder.
“Today we are being told that the country’s most popular leader is a national security threat, which is ridiculous, but this has not been said for the first time.”