Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has launched a scathing attack on PTI founder Imran Khan, calling him a “mentally disturbed person” while warning against efforts to create rifts between the people and the armed forces.

Speaking at a press conference, the military spokesperson said that while the institution respects Pakistan’s political leadership, it will not allow anyone to drag the army into politics or sow discord between the armed forces and the public. “We will not permit anyone to incite people against the Pakistan Army, nor will attempts to create a gap between the army and the nation be tolerated,” he stated.

Lt Gen Chaudhry said that whenever someone meets Imran Khan, “he spreads a narrative against the state of Pakistan and its armed forces,” adding that the PTI founder continues to operate outside the bounds of the Constitution, law, and established rules.

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Calling Imran Khan a “mentally ill person,” the DG ISPR questioned, “Who are you? Whose language are you speaking? What do you think of yourself?” He said signs of mental instability had surfaced earlier as well, and accused him of orchestrating the May 9 attack on the GHQ. “According to this person’s thinking, anyone serving in the Pakistan Army is a traitor, while he alone knows everything and everyone else is wrong,” he added.

Lt Gen Chaudhry further remarked that had Imran Khan been in power when India attacked, “he would have gone begging with a bowl in his hand for negotiations.” He also accused the PTI founder of previously urging the opening of foreign offices in Peshawar and of instigating people toward unrest.

He said Imran Khan has long had an obsession with “talks,” and continues to provoke people to stand against operations. “It is clear to us that his politics and personal interests can never be above the state,” he asserted.

The DG ISPR alleged that Imran Khan is “a mentally ill individual, part of a terror-crime nexus,” and implicated him in cases involving narcotics, illegal NCP vehicles, and kidnapping for ransom, among other matters.