PAK MILITARY LASHES OUT AT IMRAN, RAISING TENSIONS

The Pakistan Army on Monday slammed remarks by former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan over the appointment of the new army chief as “most unfortunate and disappointing.”

Media reports said the Pakistan Army on Monday slammed him for attempting to create a controversy, media reports said. This comes as Imran Khan, while addressing his supporters during a party gathering in Faisalabad, said that the current coalition government is stalling the elections to “appoint an army chief of their own choice,” reported the country’s local media outlet ARY. The Pakistan Army, in a statement, said that the Pakistan Army remains committed to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. “Regrettably, an attempt has been made to discredit and undermine the senior leadership of the Pakistan Army at a time when the institution is laying lives for the security and safety of the people of Pakistan every day,” the media outlet said, quoting the military’s media wing. The Pakistani Army expressed dismay over the remarks and said that the senior party leadership is only trying to stir controversies over the appointment of the next Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of the Pakistan Army. ISPR noted that the next Army Chief is very well defined in the constitution. ISPR, politicising the Pakistan Army’s senior leadership and scandalising the COAS selection process serves neither the state of Pakistan nor the institution. “The Pakistan Army reiterates its commitment to uphold the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” the statement said, as per the media. Khan during his rally said that only free and fair elections can ensure political stability in Pakistan and that the government was running away from doing so because they wanted to “install an army chief of their choice in November.”