ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday asked former Prime Minister Imran Khan to “keep quiet” if he wants to ease political tensions in the country, days after a controversy erupted over the latter’s social media posts.
“All Pakistanis should study the Hamood-ur-Rahman Commission report and know who is the real traitor – General Yahya Khan or Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,” a post purportedly from Khan, the jailed founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, wrote on X on May 26. The post was accompanied by a video of black-and-white photos from the 1970s.
The Hamood-ur-Rahman Commission Report was a report by an official committee that investigated the reasons for Pakistan’s defeat in the 1971 war and the creation of Bangladesh from what was then East Pakistan.
Khan’s May 26 post received hundreds of retweets and thousands of likes within a few days and was shared under multiple handles by the party and its followers.
On Friday, Defence Minister Asif commented: “I think the founders of PTI want to escalate tensions.”
Asif also called on Khan to “keep his mouth shut” if he wanted to ease political tensions in the country.
Asif said GeoNews The former chief minister, who has been incarcerated in Adiala Jail since August 2023, is reportedly trying to create such a situation again on May 9.
Following Khan’s arrest last year, hundreds of thousands of his supporters and party members destroyed 12 military installations, including Jinnah House (the residence of the Corps Commander in Lahore), Mianwali Air Base and the ISI building in Faisalabad. The Army Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi was also attacked by mobs for the first time on May 9.
He said efforts were on to retract the tweet about former Bangladesh President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“Lawyer Gauhar (Khan) clarified that the social media team had not sought permission before tweeting,” the minister said, adding that this is the first time the party has had to retract a post on its social media accounts.
However, the tweet was not retracted or deleted.
Asif said he differed from Bangladeshi politicians on the history of the country and the tragedy of East Pakistan, adding that “they are trying to increase tensions by exaggerating the tragedy of East Pakistan today.” According to Geo News, the minister further alleged that the former prime minister had betrayed everyone who had done him good, be it in politics or sports, and commented on Khan’s relationship with former military men when he was in power, claiming that “General (Qamar Javed) Bajwa’s father, General Faiz (Hamid) was his uncle and now (he is) hurling rubble at them.”
Two days ago, PTI’s lawyer Gohar Khan said Khan’s post had nothing to do with the former prime minister, who had not seen the text of the post uploaded on his account. GeoNews Said.
Gohar defended the tweet, saying it was quoted out of context and “the comparison with 1971 is in a political context and nothing else and has absolutely no connection to the army.”Meanwhile, the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime team on Thursday decided to take action against Khan over his controversial tweets on social media and entered Adiala Jail, where Khan has been lodged since last year, for investigations.
GeoNewsCiting sources in the Adiala prison, the prime minister said Khan had refused to take part in the FIA’s investigation. “I will answer any questions in the presence of my lawyer,” he added.
Published May 31, 2024 13:45 IST
