ISLAMABAD: Putting its weight behind the country’s armed forces, the National Assembly through a unanimously passed resolution on Thursday expressed its “complete solidarity” with the army in the wake of ongoing “slanderous campaign” against it by the formerly ruling PTI and urged the government and the state to take action and make this “group of misguided people” an example.

“This house expresses its resolve that the state and the government should use all its power to bring the misguided group running a campaign under a plan or by unintentionally becoming an agent of Jews against the defenders of the homeland and Pakistan to the right path,” said the resolution read out by PTI dissident Ahmed Hussain Deharr.

“The honour and prestige of Pakistan is a red line for the nation. It is the need of the hour that those elements crossing their limits and becoming a tool in the hands of enemies of the state should be made an example [for others] which is in the best interest of the nation and Pakistan,” said the resolution, without mentioning the PTI.

Paying tributes to the army personnel for sacrificing their lives in the defence of the country’s ideological and geographical borders, the lawmakers “condemned in the strongest words” the ongoing campaign against the armed forces, terming it an “extremely negative, inappropriate, immoral, illegal and baseless campaign”.

Resolution read out by PTI dissident asks state to make example out of ‘group of misguided people’

Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf allowed Mr Deharr to present the out-of-agenda resolution after suspending the rules soon after the question hour after deferring the 18-point legislative business due to the absence of the ministers and completely ignoring the other 14 points on the agenda.

Also read: PTI takes on ISPR for rejecting charges against military officer

The resolution was adopted by the lower house of parliament three weeks after ISPR rejected the “baseless and irresponsible” allegations by PTI Chairman Imran Khan against the military, terming them “absolutely unacceptable and uncalled for”.

ISPR had also called on the government to investigate the matter and initiate legal action against those “responsible for defamation and false accusations against the institution and its officials without any evidence whatsoever”.

Earlier, Minister for Aviation and Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique, in a hard-hitting speech, lashed out at the PTI chairman for running a campaign against the state institutions and doing politics of agitation, declaring that Imran Khan had no future in the country’s politics.

“Fitna-i-Imraniya conspiracy will not be allowed to succeed,” said Mr Rafique, adding the time had come to make Mr Khan accountable for his alleged corruption.

Terming the PTI a Pakistani version of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), an Indian right wing extremist organisation, the minister alleged that Mr Khan was maligning the state institutions only because they had refused to follow his “unconstitutional directives”.

According to the minister, the PTI is using social media as the “biggest tool” for its campaign. He alleged that the PTI and its accomplices were making money by investing billions in social media in the country and abroad.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2022