- Gandapur says people believe the institutes brought the government to power.
- He says the government is “trying to create” confusion among institutes and masses.
- The PTI is changing its stance towards military leadership.
MARDAN: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Saturday asked state institutions to “turn neutral”, stressing that people believe they were behind bringing the incumbent rulers to power.
His statement resonated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan's message conveyed by his sister Aleema Khan to the media after meeting him at Adiala Jail a day ago.
Aleema quoted Imran as telling the military: “We can only ask them to become neutral for the sake of the country. Remain neutral and allow the country to move forward and progress on its own.”
According to her, Imran told his family that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) were morally bankrupt and that the incumbent government was deliberately trying to pit the PTI and the military against each other to achieve its political motives.
“Imran said the army is the backbone of Pakistan,” his brother said, according to Aleema. She also said the PTI founder had resorted to the courts to prevent his handover to the army.
Aleema said multiple offers had been made to send the former prime minister abroad but he was determined to stay in Pakistan and ensure that the military and the people did not turn on each other.
“How will the country move forward without the rule of law and democracy? Businesses have been destroyed and people are leaving the country,” Imran quoted her as saying, stressing her call for the military to remain neutral.
On the other hand, Adviser to the Chief Information Minister Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said that the PML-N was trying to save its fake government while Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar was giving misleading statements.
Saif said the federal government was trying to create misunderstanding between security institutes and the masses.
