Pakistan military warns against dragging armed forces into politics

Islamabad [Pakistan], May 8 (ANI): Pakistan military on Sunday warned politicians and journalists against dragging the armed forces in ongoing political discourse in the country.
In a rare statement, the media wing of the Pakistan military said "unsubstantiated, defamatory and provocative statements" were extremely damaging.
"Recently there has been intensified and deliberate attempts to drag Pakistan Armed Forces and their leadership in ongoing political discourse in the country," said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement.
"These attempts are manifest through direct, insinuated or nuanced references to Armed Forces as well as their senior leadership, made by some political leaders, a few journalists and analysts on public forums and various communication platforms including social media," the ISPR added.
According to the Pakistan military, this practice of unsubstantiated, defamatory and provocative statements/remarks is extremely damaging.
"Pakistan Armed Forces take strong exception to such unlawful and unethical practice and expect all to abide by the law and keep the Armed Forces out of political discourse in the best interest of the country," it added.
The role of the Pakistan military came under the scanner in the wake of Imran Khan's ouster last month. Trends against the Pakistan armed forces and its leadership saw intense activity on social media platforms, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Pakistan Army last month claimed that there was a "recent propaganda" campaign by some quarters to malign the country's military.
This statement was issued after the 79th Formation Commanders' Conference held at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
This high-level meeting was attended by the country's army's corps commanders, principal staff officers, and Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa. (ANI)