PDM to be offered tea, if they came to Rawalpindi: DG ISPR
News Desk :
Regretting attempts to drag the security institutions into politics, the Director-General of In-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Babar Iftikhar said if leaders of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) came to Rawalpindi they would be offered tea. The anti-government alliance had indicated to direct their supporters towards Rawalpindi instead of Islamabad.
Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar, the ISPR Chief said this in response to a question during a media briefing on Monday which was organized to give the media a comprehensive review of efforts in the security domain.
He was asked about a statement from Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of his eponymous faction of JUI and president of PDM, who has said that the opposition alliance, which is planning to march on the capital in its attempt to topple the incumbent government, could march towards Rawalpindi instead.
Rawalpindi is where the General Headquarters (GHQ), the military headquarters, is located. The PDM has been trying to pile up pressure on the military to withdraw its support from the Imran Khan government – something it is constitutionally required to do.
“I don’t see a reason for [PDM] coming to Pindi. If they want to come, we will offer them chai-pani and look after them. This is all I would say,” the military spokesperson said in his tongue-in-cheek response triggering a coordinated smile from the audience.
Asked about the military’s silence vis-à-vis unprecedented criticism of the security institutions by some opposition leaders, Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar said: “The military would have responded if there was any truth in it. There is no truth in the allegations.” He reiterated that the military has rendered sacrifices and would continue to do so. “The morale is high, not just of the army but of the families of all our martyrs,” he added.
PDM to be offered tea, if they came to Rawalpindi: DG ISPR
