Ruling coalition trains guns at Imran’s PTI | The Express Tribune

A day after the PTI responded to a press conference of the top military spokesperson who described former prime minister Imran Khan as a “narcissist” and a “mentally ill person”, leaders from different parties in the ruling coalition lambasted the PTI for its allegedly “anti-state narrative”.

Taking to X , 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.”

Iqbal, who belongs to the PML-N, said 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 armed forces, it threatens the stability, security, and unity of the country.

Iqbal added that no leader had the right to weaponize divisive rhetoric for personal gain at the cost of Pakistan’s national security. He said 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.”

Speaking at a press conference at his residence in Rawalpindi, Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi said any campaign against the army is intolerable for any Pakistani. “Those who only understand force cannot be convinced with words,” he said.

He said there is no justification left for allowing a meeting between Imran Khan, who is detained at Adiala Jail, and his party leaders as Imran’s narrative is an attack on the state. He said that the decision about whether governor’s rule will be imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be made later.

“Today a deliberate conspiracy is pushing the country toward destabilization. The same people are being used who were tools in the past,” he claimed.

According to him, India and Afghanistan have advanced far in enmity toward Pakistan. He alleged that Afghanistan, which previously operated secretly, is now openly supporting various organizations.

“The founder’s sisters and children are sitting on Indian media,” he said, adding: “They ask why he has been declared mentally unstable—we say the decision is correct.”

Addressing PML-N workers in Lahore, Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar also declared Imran Khan “mentally unstable”. He said people in the PTI place Imran Khan before every other thing. “We reject and condemn such thinking — because if Pakistan is not there, then nothing else matters.”

Tarar said the PTI has ruled Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa for 12 and a half years but has failed to carry out even a single major development project in the province.

He said the provincial government has turned the K-P into ruins, and could not even build a hospital in its own province — whereas the PML-N built major projects in Punjab, including a forensic laboratory and numerous development works.

Tarar added that videos of the attack on the Corps Commander House on May 9, 2023 clearly show that women belonging to the PTI were present during the assault.

“They carried out acts to weaken our army to an extent that even our enemies could not,” he said. He accused the PTI government of cowardice for never raising its voice against India, and said that PTI’s social media accounts are involved in misleading propaganda against state institutions.

The leadership of the 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.”

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, who belongs to the PPP, condemned “elements spreading false narratives against the Pakistan Armed Forces” in a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday.

According to Bugti, some political parties were spreading anti-state propaganda, while children of their own leaders’ study abroad. “Our state is more important than politics. We must abandon narratives that seek to weaken the state,” he said.