Pakistan: Tensions Escalate Between Ousted PM Khan, Military

By Staff, Agencies

Pakistan's populist opposition leader Imran Khan has written a rare letter to President Arif Alvi demanding an investigation into what he refers to as "serious wrongdoings" and political interference by top military officials, including the country's spy chief.

The 70-year-old former prime minister survived an apparent assassination attempt last Thursday while he was leading a rally to demand fresh elections for his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party [PTI] in the province of Punjab. He suffered bullet wounds to his right leg and is recovering at home in the provincial capital, Lahore.

On Monday, PTI released a copy of Khan's letter to Alvi in which the opposition leader repeated his allegations that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the interior minister and a senior official of the Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI] had plotted the attack.

Khan claimed he had information from within Pakistani intelligence agencies that a plot was being hatched to assassinate him. The cricket-star-turned politician has offered no evidence to substantiate the allegations and demanded the three men resign to make way for an impartial probe into the attempt on his life.

The government and the military have rejected the charges as "baseless and irresponsible" and "absolutely unacceptable and uncalled for."

In the letter, Khan lambasted ISI chief Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum and Lieutenant General Babar Iftikhar, head of the military's media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations [ISPR], for addressing a nationally televised news conference against him late last month. This was the first time in Pakistan's history that an ISI chief formally spoke to reporters.

"Two related questions that should be examined are: How the head of Pakistan's premier intelligence agency can do a public press conference? How can two military bureaucrats do a highly political press conference targeting the leader of the largest federal political party?" Khan asked.

"You hold the highest office of state, and I am requesting you to act now to stop the abuse of power and violations of our laws and constitutions," Khan wrote to the president, who is also the supreme commander of the armed forces of Pakistan. He asked Alvi "to identify the "guilty and hold them accountable."

The PTI chief also criticized the ISPR for making statements against political leaders. He wrote that the role of the ISPR needs "to be clearly defined and limited to information related to defense and military issues."

Neither the president's office nor the military has responded to the letter.