Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Babar Iftikhar and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum on Thursday addressed the media about the killing of senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya.
Addressing the press conference, General Iftikhar said today’s media talk was to shed light on the killing of senior journalist Arshad Sharif.
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This press is being done at a time when it is essential to present the facts correctly so fact, fiction, and opinion can be differentiated,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been informed about today’s press conference.
DG ISPR termed Arshad Sharif’s death an unfortunate incident and called him an icon of journalism in Pakistan.
Speaking on the cypher issue, Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar said that the ISPR informed the National Security Committee (NSC) that no proof was found regarding the conspiracy against the former Prime Minister Imran Khan-led PTI government. “Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) also did not find any evidence regarding the conspiracy,” he added.
He further said the COAS Bajwa had discussed the cypher matter with the former prime minister on the 11th of March 2022. “It was surprising for us when on March 27 a piece of paper was waved by former PM in a public rally,” he added.
Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum also appeared in today’s press conference for the first time in Pakistan’s history.
DG ISI Lt Gen Anjum revealed that COAS Gen Bajwa was given a “lucrative offer” for an extension in his tenure in March 2022 but he refused.
“The offer was made in front of me,” he said, adding that the army chief rejected it because he wanted the institution to move forward from a controversial role to a constitutional role.
DG ISI said that the army chief’s family was also targeted by some elements.
“It is not possible that you can meet the Army chief at night through the back door and then call him a traitor in the day,” he said while talking about former premier Imran Khan.
Talking about Arshad Sharif’s killing, the ISI chief praised Sharif as a competent, hardworking, and able journalist. The DG ISI said he was in contact with his Kenyan government regarding the probe into the death of a senior journalist.
