Dawood Ahmed:
ISLAMABAD: Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmed Anjum on Thursday addressed a crowded press conference along with the DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar. “You meet in the night for personal interest and call traitor in the day”, the DIG ISI said while referring to the accusations leveled by former prime minister Imran Khan against the military leadership.
This is the first time in Pakistan’s history that the head of the country’s spy agency has directly addressed the media.
At the outset of the press conference, Gen Iftikhar said the purpose of today’s media talk was to shed light on the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya and the circumstances surrounding it.
This press conference is being held in the context of presenting facts so that “facts, fiction and opinion can be differentiated”, he said, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had been “specially informed” about the sensitivity of the press conference.
Key points from the joint presser
- The facts behind the cipher and Sharif’s death have to be determined
- ARY News played the role of a spin doctor in targeting the army; CEO Salman Iqbal should be brought back to Pakistan
- KP govt in August issued a letter stating TTP splinter group was looking to target Sharif
- No one forced Arshad Sharif to leave Dubai
- COAS presented ‘a lucrative offer” for extension in March
Besides, it is necessary to determine the factors due to which a particular narrative is being built and people are being misled, he said.
“Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa was also targeted and faced criticism. An attempt was made to create a divide in society.”
He said that Sharif’s death was an “unfortunate incident” and called him an “icon of journalism in Pakistan”. He noted that members of the late journalist’s family had served in the army, adding that he always felt the pain of martyred officers.
