Everything has been put at stake for 'game of thrones': Islamabad High Court on Imran Khan's army remarks

Sep 07, 2022

Islamabad [Pakistan], September 7 : After former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan criticised the government for delaying the elections allegedly to appoint an army chief of its own, the Islamabad High Court appeared to criticise the cricketer-turned-politician observing that everything has been put at stake for a "game of thrones," media reports said.
Imran Khan's statement on Army prompted the Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court Athar Minallah to question how the former prime minister could say in public whether an army chief was a patriot or not, Pakistan's local media outlet The News International reported.
He questioned whether Imran Khan wanted to hurt the morale of the armed forces by delivering anti-military speeches. Justice Athar Minallah's remarks came during a hearing against the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority's (PEMRA) order, prohibiting television channels from airing Khan's speeches live.
Imran Khan had warned, a few days back, that he might become a "cornered tiger" but as per a piece written by Ansar Abbasi of The News International he has turned out to be a bull in a china shop.
In his latest public statement regarding the army chief appointment, he has tried to discredit the future chief at a time when nobody even knows who would be the army chief. It appears Imran's frustration has attained new heights, the report said.
Imran Khan in a bid to make political gains is maligning the country's apex institutions and making defamatory commentaries. Irrespective of the fact whether Imran Khan's comments are legal, illegal, constitutional or unconstitutional, all that the PTI chief wants early elections.
According to the portal, the frustrated Khan has really become dangerous and what he and his party leaders have started doing, is really hurting Pakistan and its institutions.
First Shahbaz Gill's tried to undermine institutions through his anti-army statement, then Shaukat Tarin took on the state's interests by his attempt to foil IMF's bailout programme for Pakistan, and now Imran Khan's latest utterance is an effort to politicise the appointment of a new army chief, the portal reported.
There are a series of actions and utterances from the PTI which show Khan and his party leaders' frustration to get early elections reaching such a level that they see no ethics or morality and even don't care about the interest of the institution and the country.
Irked by Khan's statement, the IHC CJ said that Imran Khan should not expect relief from the courts. On Monday even Pakistani President Arif Alvi sounded perturbed over Khan's statement and asked Imran Khan to clarify his statement.
Imran Khan's statement created doubts about the new army chief at a time when no one knows who would be the next COAS. Ever since his ouster from the Prime Minister's Office, Imran Khan's main target has been the country's military establishment whom he alleges of being part of US conspiracy to remove his government, as per the media portal.