"Mentally Ill" And "Narcissist": Pak Army Slams Imran Khan's Attacks On Asim Munir

Pakistan's military issued a sharp rebuttal on Friday after jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan described the army chief as "mentally unstable". In response, the military branded Khan "mentally ill" and accused him of exploiting family visits and social media posts to attack the armed forces and cause unrest.

At a televised briefing, army spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry characterised him as a "narcissist" whose political aspirations had become so extreme that he believed, "If I am not in power, nothing else should exist," although without naming him.

Chaudhry said that individuals who have been meeting Khan behind bars were being used "to spread poison against the army." His comments followed a visit by one of Khan's sisters, who later told reporters her brother was furious with Gen. Asim Munir.

The remarks come a day after Khan posted on X, calling Munir a "mentally unstable person" and accusing him of driving "the complete collapse of the Constitution and rule of law in Pakistan."

Khan further alleged that he and his wife had been imprisoned "at his command" on fabricated charges and said he was being kept in isolation and subjected to psychological pressure.

Khan's spokesperson, Zulfiquar Bukhari, said that the military's press conference was an emotional outburst. He said it was designed to intimidate Khan and his PTI party, calling it an effort to justify an intensified crackdown and deepen what he termed mental torture in detention.

"They have already banned meetings with him going forward," Bukhari added.

The 73-year-old PTI chief has been in custody since a 2023 corruption conviction and is battling multiple additional cases. During the briefing, Chaudhry displayed Khan's recent X post, insisting that the media had amplified the "nonsense" of a "mentally ill person" and asserting that Khan's accusations against Munir were baseless.

The development comes shortly after President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved Munir's elevation to the newly created post of chief of defence forces, which is a role intended to streamline coordination across the army, navy, and air force.

Chaudhry accused Khan of attempting to inflame hostility toward the military. "We will not allow anyone to create rifts between Pakistan's military and its people," he said, noting that constitutional rights include limits, especially regarding threats to national security.

He also reiterated the military's long-standing allegation linking Khan to the May 9, 2023, attacks on military installations, including the Rawalpindi headquarters. "Was it not this same individual who orchestrated those attacks?" he said.

The violence erupted after Khan's arrest that year, when thousands of his supporters charged military and government compounds. Khan has denied any hand in the unrest.

Chaudhry noted that it is the civilian government's responsibility, and not the army's, to decide whether Khan's party should face a ban. He described Khan's alleged anti-military messaging as a threat to national stability and accused PTI of acting "in deep collusion with external actors".

Khan was ousted in an April 2022 no-confidence vote. His party, now in opposition, continues to contend that the 2024 parliamentary elections were manipulated to benefit Prime Minister Sharif, a claim the Pakistan government denies.