The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf will learn from its past mistakes, former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra said on Tuesday, opposing the military trial of the party’s leaders.
“It should not go there because there is no reason for it,” he said when asked if former Prime Minister Imran Khan should be tried in military courts.
In an informal conversation with reporters on Monday, the jailed political leader said there were plans to send the May 9 cases against him to a military court.
Jhagra was in In the spotlight, Munizae Jahangir where he answered questions related to the repression of the PTI and the government’s decision to ban his party.
“We have made mistakes in the past. Every party has made mistakes. In every party there are people more loyal than the king who do not acknowledge their mistakes. We have made mistakes and we will learn from them,” he said.
“People like me will try to make sure that we learn, but I regret that we have not made any mistake in thinking that Imran Khan or any of our people should face military trials,” he said.
He went on to describe “digital terrorism” as propaganda, saying people were being told a misinterpretation of the term.
In the recent past, the government and the military have used this terminology when talking about the dissemination of “anti-state” content on social media.
In his press conference on Monday, Director of Inter-Services Public Relations Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry called for strict laws against digital terrorism to counter propaganda against the military.
“This term, cyberterrorism, is related to hackers and worms,” he said, adding that there was both positive and negative criticism against the military and the government in the social media phenomenon.
“At the moment, the military establishment is being criticised because it is perceived to have a political role,” Jhagra said.
At one point in the programme, the PTI leader clarified that the PTI founder’s statement regarding the protest in front of the headquarters after his arrest had been denied.
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PML-N leader Danyal Chaudhry, who was also on the programme, clarified that the firewall was a “filter” against propaganda on social media.
He said that it is present in almost all countries. “It is a placement software that will help the country.”
Chaudhry dismissed rumours of a technocratic setup, adding that the government will complete its term.
