Parvez Elahi labels those involved in anti-army tirade as ‘enemies of nation’

LAHORE: Distancing himself from Imran Khan’s recent defamatory remarks about the senior leadership of the Pakistan Army, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, a key ally of the PTI, on Wednesday said those involved in the anti-army tirade are “enemies of the nation and the religion”.

Speaking at Khatam-e-Nabuwat and Pakistan Stability conference at Jamia Ashrafia, Parvez Elahi said that Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s role in serving Islam, democracy and his services for the country’s defence are commendable.

He lauded the role of the Pakistan Army and Ulema in saving the country from heading towards anarchy, civil war and law and order situation.

Lashing out at the coalition government, Elahi said that the ruling alliance should not be under the misconception that one's relationship with Pakistan Army will worsen.

In a bid to provide a livelihood to the youth, the chief minister announced that the ban on recruitment in public sector departments would be lifted in 10 days. 

'Shocked'

Pakistan Army on Monday expressed shock at PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s "anti-military statements" issued during his party’s political gathering in Faisalabad on Sunday.

The military’s media wing, in its statement, shared that the institution is “aghast at the defamatory and uncalled for statements about the senior leadership of Pakistan Army” by the former prime minister.

“Regrettably, an attempt has been made to discredit and undermine 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 statement read.