Pakistan's ousted premier Imran Khan on Sunday questioned the Pakistan Army's "logic" and said it was "shocking" that it believed the criticism of a military official was akin to defaming the armed forces.
The Pakistan Army on Saturday rejected as "baseless and irresponsible" the allegations made by Khan that one of its senior officers was among the people involved in the conspiracy to kill him.
The Army's overnight statement came in response to an address by Khan from the hospital where he underwent a surgery in which he alleged that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Major General Faisal Naseer were part of a sinister plot to assassinate him in the same way former Punjab governor Salman Taseer was killed in 2011 by a religious extremist.
Khan, 70, suffered a bullet injury in the right leg when two gunmen fired a volley of bullets in the Wazirabad area of Punjab province on Thursday, where he was leading a protest march against the Shehbaz Sharif government.
"The baseless allegations hurled at the institution/officials today are highly regrettable and strongly condemned," the Army said in a statement.
"No one will be allowed to defame the institution or its soldiers with impunity. Keeping this in view, the government of Pakistan has been requested to investigate the matter and initiate legal action against those responsible for defamation and false accusations against the institution and its officials without any evidence whatsoever," it said.
Responding to Army's statement, Khan said on Sunday that he was "surprised that DG ISPR gave that statement because Imran Khan accused one army officer".
Khan said that it was "shocking" that the military's media wing spokesperson said that criticising a military official was akin to defaming the Pakistan Army.
"This means if I say a judge is wrong, this means the entire judiciary is wrong. If someone says there is a corrupt person in PTI and I say that you have said that the entire party is corrupt. Is there any logic?" Khan was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune newspaper.
"Mr DG ISPR, have you noticed what you are saying? This means if I say a judge is wrong it would mean the entire judiciary is wrong, and if someone says there is a corrupt person in [the] PTI and I would say that you have said that the entire party is corrupt. Is there any logic?" he asked.
He further questioned, while addressing the DG ISPR, "why does the army then carry court-martials?", adding that it is because an officer does something wrong which is why such a practice is carried.
The powerful Army, which has ruled the coup-prone country for more than half of its 75-plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in matters of security and foreign policy.
Khan has repeated the names of three persons for their alleged involvement in the attack. He urged his followers to continue protests across the country until the three of them resigned.
Khan also announced that he would relaunch the protest march against the government soon after getting on his feet.
Since he was ousted from power in April, the cricketer-turned-politician has repeatedly claimed that the no-trust motion against him was the result of a "foreign conspiracy".
