PTI Leaders Admit Imran Khan’s Harsh Anti-Military Rhetoric Triggered Strong ISPR Response
ISLAMABAD: Senior figures within Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have privately acknowledged that party founder Imran Khan’s repeated use of harsh and derogatory language against the military leadership on social media—particularly on *X*—played a key role in prompting the strong reaction issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Friday.
According to party insiders, the matter was discussed within PTI’s leadership circles, where several members admitted that Imran Khan has frequently used “highly insulting and demeaning” expressions for top military officials in his posts.
A senior PTI leader, speaking to *The News* on condition of anonymity, said: “If we keep doing this again and again, what else can we expect from the other side?”
He added that counting the posts over the past two years suggests that more than a hundred tweets from Imran Khan’s account contained aggressive language aimed at the military leadership.
Sources revealed that PTI leaders face a dilemma: although many senior members disagree with the jailed party founder on several issues—including his continued personal attacks on the military leadership—they have little influence over messaging or decision-making. The party’s narrative, they said, continues to be dictated from Adiala Jail, regardless of internal reservations.
According to insiders, very few senior PTI leaders retweet or ‘like’ these controversial posts. Most within the party prefer a de-escalatory approach, but Imran Khan remains unwilling to listen, and the leadership has no control over the party’s social media or Khan’s personal accounts.
On Friday, ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry launched one of the strongest public attacks yet on the PTI founder, indirectly calling him a “mentally unstable person” and a “serious national security threat.”
Although the DG ISPR avoided mentioning Imran Khan by name, the target of his criticism was unmistakably the incarcerated party leader and his political platform.
The military spokesperson said PTI’s narrative had become increasingly “anti-state” and harmful to national unity. He also alleged that PTI’s messaging was being amplified by international media outlets belonging to countries whose militaries had been “defeated by Pakistan in the past.”
This escalating exchange marks one of the most direct confrontations between the military and the PTI leadership to date — highlighting both the widening rift and an ongoing internal struggle within PTI over how to handle its approach toward the establishment.
