Social media campaign against army was ‘joint project’ of PTI, India
Ijaz Kakakhel Islamabad
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday said that the appointment of a new army chief should not be turned into a political affair and the government has not even initiated anything on it yet.
Talking to journalists, the minister clarified that no process in this regard was underway at the moment. He said the matter should not be turned into a political debate. The army chief’s appointment is due in November this year, with Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations Maj-Gen Babar Iftikhar already clarifying that COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa will retire on November 29, 2022.
The minister addressing a press conference on the government’s action against the social media propaganda launched following the Balochistan helicopter crash in Lasbela. He had shared that 18 Indian Twitter accounts were involved in the anti-army smear campaign following the copter crash. “The law has come into action,” the defence minister said and claimed that in the coming days, “more facts” will be unveiled.
The defence minister added that the Lasbela helicopter crash was an unfortunate event, and it caused grief to the nation. “But the entire nation is ashamed after the tweets that came to the fore.” Khawaja Asif alleged that a “negative” social media campaign targeting the tragic incident of an army helicopter crash amid flood relief operations in Balochistan earlier this month was a “joint project” of the PTI and India against the Pakistan Army. After the chopper crash in Lasbela, a section of social media activists and certain political zealots launched an abhorrent and unacceptable online campaign to advance their personal and political malice, which drew a strong reaction from people belonging to all walks of life, political leadership and the state institutions.
