Federal ministers on Saturday strongly defended the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General’s recent remarks, insisting the military’s spokesperson had every right to respond firmly to criticism targeting Pakistan’s armed forces.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the ISPR DG, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, had used “highly careful and responsible language” despite intense attacks from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). “They say he shouldn’t have said this he absolutely should have. They are free to respond with full force,” Asif told reporters in Sialkot.
The minister backed the ISPR DG’s sharp criticism of PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan, who was accused of promoting anti-military narratives, spreading disinformation, and working with external elements to create unrest. The military spokesperson had also termed Khan a “national security threat.”
Responding to the presser, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan called for lowering tensions, saying he had hoped for “better relations, not further divisions.”
Asif, however, questioned Imran Khan’s patriotism, accusing him of attacking the armed forces even during Pakistan’s confrontation with India. “Those whose tongues didn’t spare even our martyrs with what face do they complain now?” he said. “Their ideology is power, nothing else. They have no link to this soil.”
He added that while friendly nations had supported Pakistan in critical times, “one political party refused to stand with the 250 million people of the country.”
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal also defended the ISPR DG, saying he would have used “even stronger words” against those criticising state institutions. “Our forces are fighting terrorism, sacrificing daily. Anyone attacking the military deserves a strict response,” he said.
Iqbal stressed national unity, noting that despite being jailed in a “false case,” he never spoke against Pakistan abroad. “We are one family. Our internal issues must stay inside the home,” he said.
He urged the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to fulfil its constitutional duty, calling terrorism the province’s “biggest challenge” and expressing hope for stronger efforts to restore peace.
