The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday called for a comprehensive rethink of state policies, criticizing the establishment’s tendency to label dissenting opinions as anti-state.
In a statement reacting to a press conference by military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqqas Akram emphasized the need for freedom of expression and constitutional justice. Labeling critics as anti-state, he said, merely served to bolster divisiveness and lawlessness, undermining democratic principles. It also sows conflict between the public and institutions, he added.
Criticizing the use of military courts to try civilians, he warned this could have negative consequences for the country’s constitutional system. Justice, he wrote, must be administered transparently and independently, free from any external pressures. “The world accepts the decisions of independent constitutional courts, not those of military courts,” he said.
Criticizing government crackdowns on the PTI’s protesters, he questioned their arrests under Article 245. He also condemned the blocking of roads ahead of PTI’s protests, urging the government to focus on addressing public grievances and fostering unity rather than relying on heavy-handed tactics.
Reiterating the party’s demand for a high-level independent judicial inquiry into the events of May 9, he said the issue could not be resolved through press conferences or rhetoric.
On the military spokesman’s criticism of governance in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Akram claimed it was a “success story.” He claimed fiscal discipline, increased revenue and development spending positioned it as a model for responsible governance. “The country and its 240 million people are suffering because of the state machinery’s misplaced priorities,” he reiterated.
Talks with TTP
Separately, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan sought to counter the ISPR DG’s comments on the resettlement of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in the erstwhile FATA areas. In a posting on X, he alleged that it was not Imran Khan, but rather former Army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa (ret.) who had initiated peace talks with the militants.
The opposition leader criticized the ISPR’s repetition of what he described as baseless allegations, claiming this approach undermined public confidence in official communications.