Islamabad- In an extraordinary and unusually blunt press conference lasting more than two hours and forty minutes at General Headquarters on Thursday, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry declared that the political narrative being pushed by incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has crossed the boundary from politics into a direct threat to national security.
Speaking to a packed hall of senior journalists, the DG ISPR began by welcoming the formal establishment of the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Headquarters, calling it “a monumental day for Pakistan’s national security” and a long-overdue step toward jointness and multi-domain operations that over seventy countries already possess.
He quickly turned to what he described as the “basic purpose” of the briefing: to address an internal national security threat emanating from “one delusional mindset and narcissistic mindset” that places personal ego above the state.
Without naming Imran Khan even once, Lieutenant General Chaudhry said:
“The frustration of this individual has reached the point where he believes ‘If not me, then nothing at all’. His narrative, which used to be political, has now become a national security threat because it is being run in deep collusion with external actors.”
Using a large screen, the DG ISPR presented a detailed, minute-by-minute demonstration of how anti-army social media posts originate from PTI-linked accounts, are instantly amplified by Indian troll farms and mainstream Indian television channels, and then echoed by Afghan media and overseas diaspora handles. He described the process as “highly organised, highly systematic and heavily funded,” adding, “There is no free lunch. The enemy is the same for all of them – Pakistan and its armed forces.”
He accused the former premier of repeatedly calling for economic default (asking the IMF not to engage with Pakistan, urging civil disobedience and non-payment of electricity bills) and of systematically targeting the military leadership that, in his words, “stood eye-to-eye with an enemy eight times larger in economy during Operation Marka-e-Haq and earned respect for the nation.”
The DG ISPR strongly rejected the PTI argument that criticism is directed only at “one individual, not the institution:
“The army is a hierarchical, merit-based entity. The soldier sacrifices his life on the orders of this very leadership. You cannot separate the institution from its leadership. To attack the head of the armed forces is to attack the institution itself.”
He reminded the audience of the 9 May 2025 attacks on military installations, including GHQ, martyrs’ memorials, PAF monuments and the Chagai symbol, saying the same mindset was responsible and that anyone capable of attacking his own army “has no issue being called a traitor.”
On the continuing meetings with Imran Khan in Adiala Jail, he questioned which law or political norm permits a convict to continuously generate narratives against the state and its armed forces.
Addressing terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the DG ISPR accused the provincial government of providing political cover to what he called a “terror-crime-political nexus” involving narcotics, smuggling, illegal vehicles, mining licences, kidnapping for ransom and extortion. He said the only story allowed to emerge from the province is “security”, so that no one asks about thirteen years of governance, education, health or corruption.
He presented statistics showing 13,217 intelligence-based operations conducted in 2025 (an average of 2,004 per day) and 1,943 terrorists killed – the highest single-year figure in a decade – yet claimed the provincial leadership continues to campaign against operations and demand dialogue with the banned TTP.
When pressed repeatedly on whether the military is demanding a ban on PTI, Lieutenant General Chaudhry replied:
“We are only one institution of the state. We give our professional perspective on security matters openly to the people of Pakistan because the other side is also speaking openly. What action is to be taken is the prerogative of the state and the civilian government. The state is larger, wiser and more pragmatic than any single institution.”
He urged the national media to move beyond round-the-clock discussion of the military and focus instead on population growth, food security, water scarcity, climate change and economic issues.
Closing the press conference, the DG ISPR issued a stark warning:
“Lies, deceit and this business of falsehood will no longer be allowed to continue in Pakistan. Whoever believes his ego or his politics is bigger than the protection of this state and the lives, property and honour of its people is gravely mistaken. The armed forces of Pakistan are standing and will continue to stand. We are not going anywhere.”
The press conference, described by many present as the most direct public confrontation between the military establishment and a political party in recent history, has sent shockwaves through political circles and is widely expected to intensify the ongoing civil-military tensions in the country.
