Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday accused the opposition of launching a malicious campaign against the Pakistan military, while expressing the PTI-led government's concerns over such a development.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said that the government had repeatedly warned the opposition not to pollute the political landscape or drag the name of respectable state institutions through the mud.

At the very beginning of his speech, the information minister said that a meeting of the political committee was held earlier in the day where concerns were raised over a "campaign against the Pakistan Army".

In response to a reporter's question regarding suggestions that the army was supporting the opposition as its efforts to get PM Imran Khan ousted thought their no-trust motion in the National Assembly, he said that such claims were baseless and that the country's armed forces continue to stand with the government as dictated by the Constitution. "In our constitutional scheme, the army has to stay with the government."

The minister went on to says that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had always tried, in the name of reforms, to “politically control” the Pakistan military in the way same the government has control over the police.

He also played a clip of PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman's press conference from Wednesday, in which Fazl calls for reforms in the military, citing it as proof that there was an orchestrated campaign by the joint opposition to malign the military.

Fawad also referred to previous instances of civil-military tensions in Pakistan's history including the Memogate Scandal and Dawn leaks while showing clips of TV reports.

He also played the footage of an interview of Tehmina Janjua, a former spokesperson of the Foreign Office, who had claimed that the Sharif family was pro-India.

The information minister also referred to Indian journalist Barkha Datt’s book in which she claims that Nawaz Sharif held a secret meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kathmandu.

Speaking about Opposition’s no-trust motion, the minister reiterated the strategy shared earlier by PM's aide on parliamentary affairs, Babar Awan, and Interior Minsiter Sheikh Rashid that the ruling PTI will not allow its MNAs to attend the NA session being convened for a vote on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Fawad also said that under the Article 63A of the Constitution, the speaker will reject votes by PTI MNAs cast in favour of the resolution. However, this does not apply to government coalition partners such as PMLQ, MQM and GDA, he confirmed.

The information minister, while speaking about the opposition’s criticism over the government's foreign policy, said the opposition was raising objections to Pakistan’s independent foreign policy.

Responding to question regarding Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, he said that the PM is satisfied with the Punjab chief minister's performance, adding that at the moment the government was focused on the no-confidence motion. "The decision about Punjab will be made at a later stage."