Pakistan Army should be ashamed for jumping into politics: Imran Khan

Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan hit out at the country’s powerful army in his first address after an Islamabad court set him free, saying it should be ashamed of jumping into politics and could form its own political party.

Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan hit out at the country's powerful army in his first address after an Islamabad court set him free, saying it should be ashamed of jumping into politics and could form its own political party.

Addressing the nation from his Lahore home on Saturday, Mr. Khan took strong exception to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) allegations against him and said the spokesperson of the army's military wing was not even born when he represented Pakistan in the world.

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“I kept Pakistan’s flag high world over. Never has ISPR made such a statement. You should be ashamed of yourself. You have jumped into politics. Why don’t you make a political party," Mr. Khan said in an hour-long maiden speech after the Islamabad High Court gave him blanket relief in all 145 cases registered against him.

His remarks came in response to ISPR Director-General Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry’s statement in which he called Mr. Khan a "hypocrite".

"Listen to me Mr. DG ISPR…you were not even born when I was representing my country in the world and earning a good name for it. You need to be ashamed of yourself for calling me a hypocrite and anti-Army,” he said in a harsh rejoinder.

A triumphant Mr. Khan returned to his Zaman Park home in Lahore on Saturday after having locked himself in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises for hours for fear of re-arrest despite being granted bail on Friday.