ISLAMABAD: Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has revealed that the next general elections will not be held as per the demands of PTI Chairman Imran Khan but the country will go to polls at its designated time in 2023.
The defense minister maintained that Khan’s strategy was all about “destroying the establishment”, adding that since the no-confidence motion to oust him from power has become successful, he “wants the establishment to support him”.
While talking to a media network, Khawaja Asif went on to say that the general elections in the country will not be held as per Khan’s demands but at the scheduled time, i.e. in 2023.
Speaking about the matter of Khan’s arrest, the defence minister said that it was a legal matter, therefore, all cases should be conducted in accordance with the law.
The minister also said that today, the entire world, as well as the Pakistani judiciary, is acknowledging that Nawaz Sharif was subjected to “unjust treatment.”
Meanwhile, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), in a statement, said that “regrettably, an attempt was made to discredit and undermine the senior leadership of the army at a time when the institution was laying lives for the “security and safety of the people every day”.
On the other hand, the ruling coalition had castigated the PTI chairman for his remarks at the Faisalabad jalsa.
In a joint statement, the ruling coalition condemned Khan’s public meeting for spreading hatred against the Pakistan Army and its leadership and making “sensitive professional matters” controversial.
The entire nation is battling floods, while the PTI chairman is consumed by a thirst for revenge and his pride, the statement said, noting that despite the cataclysmic floods, Khan is targetting the armed forces.
The ruling partners said that the serious allegations being levelled against the military are for three reasons: to disturb the country’s economy, to move Pakistan’s economy to a path that it becomes like that of Sri Lanka, and foster enmity between the nation and the armed forces.
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