THE top military brass expressed serious concern over a sustained campaign aimed at maligning the Pakistan Army on the pretext of interference in the electoral process and resolved that planners, instigators and desecrators of Shuhada monuments and attackers of military installations on May 09 would certainly be brought to justice. The sentiment was conveyed in a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) after a brain-storming session of the 263rd Corps Commanders Conference (CCC), held on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir. The forum noted that the defence forces of Pakistan at a great peril to their primary responsibility provided a security environment for the conduct of general election 2024 as per the given mandate and had nothing to do with the electoral process. However, some vested small segments of polity and media, especially social media, have been maligning the defence forces of Pakistan with unsubstantiated allegations of interference, which is highly deplorable.
There is no denying the fact that the role of the military personnel was confined to the security and that too as the last layer (of security) and there was no report from any part of the country with regard to interference of the army personnel in the voting or counting process. The elections were widely observed by local and foreign independent monitors and no irregularity of the sort was reported by them. Similarly, counting and consolidation of the results was the sole prerogative of the presiding officers and the returning officers concerned. The attempts to create an impression that the results were manipulated somewhere else backfired when Commissioner Rawalpindi backtracked from his earlier allegations about change of data. It is, however, highly deplorable that a narrative against national institutions including the Pakistan Army, the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is being built on a sustainable basis which has no other purpose than to weaken the strength of the State of Pakistan by shattering confidence and trust of the nation in state institutions. The elements behind this malicious campaign have apparently not learnt any lesson as warnings are opening being issued that the situation could culminate into another May 09 like tragedy which was nothing but mutiny against the State. It was, perhaps, in this backdrop that the CCP has reiterated its earlier commitment that planners, instigators, abettors, perpetrators and desecrators of Shuhada monuments and attackers of military installations on May 09 would certainly be brought to justice under the relevant provisions of the law and Constitution. In this regard, malicious efforts to create distortions, confusion and disinformation are absolutely futile and only part of an organized campaign being launched for narrow political interests to blur the abhorrent activities that took place. We have been emphasizing in these columns that in case someone has substantial evidence of rigging or result manipulation then the issue should be taken up in the relevant forums. There is a comprehensive grievance redressal mechanism involving the judiciary (on which the complainants have been expressing full confidence) and, therefore, there was absolutely no justification to start maligning institutions or reacting disproportionately to the perceived rigging in elections. Apart from the issue of rigging, a systematic effort is being made to spread fake news and cloud minds of the innocent people even otherwise highly appreciable moves, decisions and policies of the Government. The CCC has rightly pointed out that this is being done to sow despondency and divisions within the society and urged the proud people of Pakistan to remain positive and united and wholeheartedly participate in the progress and development of the country. As attempts are being made to undermine the working of the Government, which is facing serious challenges on different fronts, the CCC thought it appropriate to convey in categorical terms that the Pakistan Army would continue providing full support to the government in combating security threats and uplifting the socio-economic growth in the country including wholehearted assistance in curbing all illegal activities including smuggling, hoarding, electricity theft, implementation of one document regime and respectable and safe repatriation of all illegal foreigners. The message is very clear: exercise freedoms within the bounds of the law and the Constitution so that the country moves ahead or law will take its own course.
