Pakistan’s Supreme Court rebuked the powerful military and intelligence agencies Wednesday, calling for them to uphold free speech and stay out of politics in a country ruled by the generals for nearly half its existence.
The unusually strong criticism was issued in a judgement released criticizing the role of the intelligence agencies in anti-blasphemy protests which paralyzed the capital Islamabad for several weeks in 2017.
“If any personnel of the Armed Forces indulges in any form of politicking or tries to manipulate the media he undermines the integrity and professionalism of the Armed Forces,” the judgement, posted on the Supreme Court website, stated.
Pakistan’s constitution “emphatically prohibits” members of the armed forces from “engaging in any kind of political activity”, it added, ordering the government and the chiefs of the army, air force and navy to take action against anyone found violating their oaths to uphold the document.
Source: AFP
