Director General (DG) Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt General Nadeem Anjum and Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt General Babar Iftikhar held a press conference in Rawalpindi on 27 October 2022 over the killing senior journalist Arshad Sharif.
“The purpose of this press conference is to inform you about the death of prominent senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya and the circumstances surrounding it.” DG ISPR stated, while adding that the press conference was being held in the context of presenting facts so that “facts, fiction and opinion can be differentiated.”
Lt Gen Iftikhar said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was already informed about the sensitivity of the press conference and it was necessary to determine the factors due to which a particular narrative is being built and people are being misled regarding the killing of the anchorperson.
He added that Sharif’s death was a ‘very tragic incident’ and called the senior journalist an icon of Pakistani journalism, a martyr’s son and a martyr’s brother and a serving officer’s brother-in-law. Lt Gen Iftikhar said that his programmes will be seen as a role model for journalists.
The DG ISPR said that Arshad Sharif held several meetings with the former Prime Minister and interviewed him. “As a result, it was stated that he was shown meting minutes and cypher.” he added that the facts behind the cypher and Sharif’s death have to be determined.
Talking about the cypher, Lt Gen Iftikhar said that the Army Chief had discussed it with the former Prime Minister and PTI Chairperson Imran Khan on March 11 when the latter had termed it to be “not a big deal.” He added that it was surprising that on March 27, a piece of paper was waved and an attempt was made to build a narrative that was far from reality.
He added that several facts that come to light regarding the cypher revealing the “baseless and unfounded” narrative being built around it. The DG ISPR informed the National Security Committee (NSC) that no proof was found regarding any conspiracy against the PTI-led Government and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) also did not find any evidence in the matter.
“This is all part of the record.” he said. “We wanted to bring this to the public and left the decision to the-then government.” he added. Furthermore, DG ISPR said that this did not happen and more rumors were spread to gain political mileage, while the Pakistan Army was also dragged into the matter and targeted.
He added that the Army was expected to intervene in domestic politics and world neutral and apolitical was turned into an abuse. However, the Army Chief and the institution showed restraint despite the baseless narrative and we tried out best that politicians sit together and resolve their issues.
He noted that Arshad Sharif made strong comments regarding the army during this time but added that “we did not have any negative sentiments about him and we don t have such feelings now”.
Meanwhile, DG ISI, who was also present at the press conference, said that, “On the occasion, DG ISI asked if the commander-in-chief is a traitor, then why did you meet him in hiding. “Meeting [him] is your right but it cannot be possible that you meet at night and call [him] a traitor during the day.
It is pertinent to mention that ISI Chief made an unprecedented appearance during today’s press conference and it was the first time ever for him to appear at a press conference like this in the history of the country. “As chief of this agency, I cannot remain silent when they are targeted for no reason,” he told the presser.
He said that the nation had given him the responsibility to to take secrets to the grave but when required, he would bring those facts to light.
DG ISPR & DG ISI Press Conference
Read more: PTI Long March Route from Lahore to Islamabad.
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