Imran Khan Democracy requires moral, not military strength, says ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan
Islamabad: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday deplored the imbalance in civil-military relations in the country when he blamed previous PPP and PML-N governments for ceding space to the army to ‘save their skin’ in corruption cases.
The former prime minister made these remarks at a seminar on freedom of expression, a day ahead of crucial by-polls in Punjab, where his party is contesting on 20 Punjab Assembly seats across the province.
“Because of this imbalance, a situation has developed that [now] the establishment isn’t realising [the consequences of] the actions it is committing,” he was quoted as saying by The Dawn, while referring to a crackdown against his party following his ouster as a result of the no-confidence motion.
“We cannot afford a weak army... we have to protect it. If the distance between the army and the public keeps increasing, which it is, then it will eventually harm the army and Pakistan,” Khan said.
According to Imran Khan, democracy depended on “moral strength” and not physical strength, which he said the Pakistani military possesses.
