‘Enough is enough’: Imran hits out at PDM ‘propaganda’ amid furore on COAS appointment remarks

PTI chief and former prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday declared “enough is enough” as he hit out at those “deliberately distorting” his remarks about the future army chief’s appointment, as the PML-N termed him an “enemy of the state”.

Imran’s comments about the appointment triggered fierce criticism from the coalition government as well as a tersely worded statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The ex-premier had alleged the PPP and PML-N were opposing fresh elections because they wanted to “appoint an army chief of their choice” in November purportedly to save their skin in corruption cases.

While PTI leaders had jumped to Imran’s defence, President Arif Alvi had all but distanced himself from the situation. In an informal chat with journalists in Peshawar, he maintained that the former premier should himself clarify his remarks.

Imran, who had stayed mum on the matter since Sunday, said on Tuesday that he was following the “intense propaganda” against him that had been launched by the “PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) cabal of crooks”.

“This stems from [them] being petrified of [the] PTI’s soaring popularity. Today, in [the] Peshawar jalsa, I will give proper reply to all those who have deliberately been distorting my words to malign me. Enough is enough,” he said.

The tweet triggered an #EnoughIsEnough hashtag, which was one of the top political trends on Pakistani Twitter, racking up more than 84,000 retweets at the time of this report.

Meanwhile, PML-N said the “enemy of the state has come out all guns blazing against the state institutions”.

It added in a tweet that from the ECP, to the judiciary, to the police and armed forces, Khan is “having a go at anyone who’s unwilling to bow down to his fascism”.

It then followed it up by saying it’s “#ImranVsPakistan now and we stand with Pakistan”.

Party vice president Maryam Nawaz said that PTI chief Imran Khan’s stance about was conditional, calling on the “curse” to be dealt with.

In a tweet on Tuesday, she said: “Imran’s stance about Pakistan is conditional. If [the] army remains neutral, I will drag it through the mud, if [the] courts do not legalise my crimes, I will blacken their faces, if the Election Commission of Pakistan exposes the theft of foreign funding, I will attack their integrity. The curse has to be dealt with,” she said.

A day earlier, Maryam had called for an end to treating Imran like a political leader, claiming that the country would go downhill if he was not treated like a “double-dealer”.