News
June 10 , 2022
ISPR Warns of Legal Action over ‘Malicious Allegations’ against Army, Its Leadership
Rawalpindi: The military on Wednesday dismissed allegations hurled against its top leadership by senior journalist Shaheen Sehbai, terming them a ‘baseless propaganda’.
Sehbai, in a tweet, had claimed that former finance minister Shaukat Tarin was asked by the establishment to "betray" former prime minister Imran Khan and help the incumbent premier, Shehbaz Sharif.
"Neutral exposed: I am going to write soon about WHY the Chief Neutral, proved by Shaukat Tareen as Non-Neutral as he asked Tareen to betray IK n help Shehbaz, is so sensitive and DEAD SCARED about his remaining 4 months in office. Something fishy, intriguing, alarming, unpatriotic," Sehbai claimed in a tweet.
However, military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), denied the charge in a statement issued Wednesday. "The insinuations by Shaheen Sehbai and some others on social media quoting the Former Finance Minister are baseless propaganda," it said.
"The same has also been duly rebutted by Mr Shaukat Tarin himself. Peddling malicious allegations and blatant lies against the institution and its leadership to promote vested interests is condemnable and institution reserves the right to take legal action against those involved."
Sehbai's claims were also denied by the former finance minister himself in a Twitter post.
"I categorically deny what has been attributed to me by Shaheen Sebhai. I was never asked by anyone in the establishment to leave IK and join Shahbaz Shareef govt," he wrote on his official Twitter handle. – The Express Tribune
According to a Dawn report, Tarin's tweet appears to be a rebuttal to an early morning tweet by Sehbai…Sehbai, however, in his tweet did not mention if Tarin was asked to resign or by whom.
The word neutral, used frequently by Imran Khan and his party, is now widely read as a reference to the military, which has been consistently claiming that it remained apolitical and had nothing to do with the mechanics of the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan. However, since Imran's ouster, the army leadership has come under criticism on social media platforms.
Meanwhile, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) also took exception to Sehbai's remarks, calling them "baseless propaganda".
"The insinuations by Shaheen Sehbai and some others on social media quoting the former finance minister are baseless propaganda," a statement issued less than two hours after Tarin's tweet said. "The same has also been duly rebutted by Shaukat Tarin himself."
"Peddling malicious allegations and blatant lies against the institution and its leadership to promote vested interests is condemnable and [the] institution reserves the right to take legal action against those involved," it concluded.
Sehbai, in response, said Tarin himself had broken the news of being asked to assist the coalition government in dealing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In May, Tarin had claimed that the PML-N-led coalition government sought his expertise to lift the crumbling economy, saying he refused to do so until a caretaker setup was installed and fresh elections were announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“Yes they [the current government leaders] did,” Tarin had said when asked during a press conference whether any request had been made by the leaders of the new coalition government for help to boost the economy.
“But I have made it very clear that I cannot do that. We believe that the time has come for fresh elections and if elections are called immediately and a caretaker setup is put in place, I will be there for any help,” the former finance minister had said.