Islamabad: Pakistan’s Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has directed the country’s commanders and other key officers, including those associated with the ISI, to stay away from politics and avoid interacting with politicians.
These directions have been given after reports said that Pakistan military establishment was involved in political engineering to manipulate the upcoming by-elections in Punjab to the disadvantage of PTI, The News International newspaper reported.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan also claimed that some of his candidates have complained to him of receiving telephone calls from unknown numbers. The PTI chief also said that his party leaders and workers were being pressurized to engineer the by-elections.
According to The News, the country’s defense sources lament over these allegations and disclosed that the ISI sector commander, Lahore, who is being maligned by the PTI leaders, is not even in Lahore for over a fortnight in connection with some of his professional work in Islamabad.
Pakistan media reports said the unauthorized political role of the agency has dented the reputation of the ISI. However, the incumbent ISI DG is said to have decided to keep the institution away from politics to stay away from unnecessary controversies.
