Gohar urges dialogue and reduction of tension; expresses disappointment at DG ISPR press conference

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Advocate Gohar Ali Khan has appealed to pro-democracy forces to play their role in reducing tensions and expressed disappointment over the ISPR Director General’s press conference where he called former Prime Minister Imran Khan a “threat to national security”.

In a post on X, Gohar responded to the DG ISPR’s comments, saying he had always hoped to reduce tensions and improve relations between state institutions. He stressed that the defense of the country was paramount and stated that the PTI’s narrative ‘has never been and will never be against the State’.

He added that it was deeply unfortunate that state institutions and political leaders were labeling each other as “mentally unstable” or presenting each other as threats. “Pakistan is ours, and the army is also ours. We have proven it in practice and we will continue to do so,” he said.

He called for restraint and said this was a time for all parties to recognize each other, create space for compromise and work to overcome the prevailing trust deficit, while appealing to all democratic forces to play their role in reducing tensions.

Read: DG ISPR lashes out at Imran’s ‘anti-army’ narrative, calling it a ‘national threat’

Gohar also warned that the conduct of “certain stakeholders” should not worsen relations between PTI and state institutions. Referring to the imprisonment of PTI founder and Bushra Bibi, he said allowing meetings with them could help “move things forward towards improvement”.

“The country cannot afford more tensions and chaos,” he warned, urging all political actors to act responsibly for national stability.

His statement came after DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry’s hard-hitting press conference earlier in the day, during which he criticized the jailed former prime minister and his party, warning that no one would be allowed to incite the public against the armed forces.

Addressing journalists in Rawalpindi, DG ISPR spoke of a “creeping threat to national security” which, in the view of the military, required urgent attention. He said the threat emanated from “the delusional mentality of a delusional person who has become captive to his own ego, thinking that his desires are greater than those of the State of Pakistan”, in a clear reference to Imran Khan.

“Who are you? What message do you want to give? Who do you think you are?” he commented.

Read also: Tarar says PTI has blocked all his houses, no negotiation possible now

Highlighting what it described as the growing influence of an individual, DG ISPR added: “A person’s ambitions are greater than the State itself. The armed forces serve as a shield between the public and extremist ideologies. That individual’s political relevance is over; he should focus on his own politics and keep the military out of it.”

He underlined the strategic role of Pakistan’s armed forces in safeguarding the country against internal and external threats, and said attacks on the army only weakened national security. “It is the armed forces that stand between the Hindutva mentality in India and its hegemonic design, and the people of Pakistan. It is these armed forces that stand between the khawarij, the terrorists, Fitna al-Khawarij, Fitna al-Hindustan operating from Afghanistan,” he said.