PM Shehbaz condemns campaign against military leadership on social media

LONDON: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that those involved in attacking Pakistan Army last year on May 9 cannot be forgiven as they have committed crimes against the nation and their crimes are unpardonable.

The prime minister was speaking to Pakistani media in London after participating in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session. He arrived in London on Saturday night and will be departing to Pakistan on Monday.

He condemned campaign against the military leadership including Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir on social media and hinted that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was behind it. He said the vulgar and abusive campaign was a manifestation of digital terrorism and reflected on how the PTI was going out of all limits to harm Pakistan.

He said: “Filthy language is being used on social media against the Pakistan Armed Forces. We will not tolerate this.”

The prime minister said that he was glad that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other credit agencies have confirmed that Pakistan’s economy is stabilising and improving, staging upward trend.

He said: “Without the help of brotherly countries — Saudi Arabia, the UAE and China —  the IMF programme wouldn’t have been possible. Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir made personal efforts for economic development and he played a big role in the revival of IMF plan. The army chief visited a brotherly country and discussed the IMF programme. I hope this will be the last IMF programme.”

He thanked the Saudi, Kuwaiti, UAE and Chinese leadership for helping Pakistan in stablising its economy.

The PM mentioned that the Saudi king is playing a leadership role on the issue of Palestine.

He said the previous government left no stone unturned in destroying relations with China. He said: “I was accused of taking a 45% commission in a deal with China. After two years of investigation, the UK National Crime Agency gave me a clean chit.”

Additionally, Shehbaz said that economic stability cannot come without political stability and his govt was doing everything for the stability.

The prime minister said that he was able to explain Pakistan’s view point on Palestine and Kashmir before the whole world.

He said: “At my UN address, I conveyed the voice of the Pakistani people to the world as the elected prime minister. We exposed inhumane atrocities being committed in Gaza. We condemn events in Lebanon, and called for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine. We want the immediate establishment of an independent state of Palestine is necessary. Palestinians should have representation at the UN.”

He added: “Kashmiris have been fighting for their freedom for a hundred years. Kashmiris should be granted the right to self-determination; Burhan Wani's name was mentioned at the UN.”

He said: “We saved Pakistan from the brink of default and brought it back. The burden of extreme inflation in Pakistan is decreasing, and we are moving towards economic growth. The tax base needs to be increased; the common man has been sacrificing for 70 years, now it's time for the elite to sacrifice.”

For durable peace, the premier called on India to reverse the unilateral and illegal measures, it has taken since August 5, 2019, and enter into a dialogue "for a peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions, and the wishes of the Kashmiri people".

PM Shehbaz also demanded an immediate end to the ongoing Israeli atrocities in Gaza, terming it "systematic slaughter" and "bloodshed".

Moreover, the prime minister asked the United Nations to work for a durable peace, through the two-state solution.