Defence Minister Khawaja Asif while reacting to PTI chief Imran Khan’s statement on the military said that the army’s job was not responsible to provide protection to politicians.

“Such people [Imran Khan] have become a threat to Pakistan,” he said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad. He advised politicians to avoid speaking about the army chief’s appointment, alleging that the former premier was making such a development controversial.

Imran, who was ousted via a vote of no-confidence in April, had spoken about the military in his anti-government rally at the party’s Faisalabad rally. The PTI chief has vowed to continue such campaigns till the call of elections despite concerns over the timing as the country was fighting floods led by heavy rains.

Asif’s diatribe comes hours after the coalition government’s top leadership, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s statements.

Zardari, who is popular for his politics, said the Pakistan Democratic Movement would not allow “a man” to make national institutions controversial through his statements. “The whole nation is seeing who is tempting the nation. Today, everyone has come to know about the human and the animal,” the former president said.

“Imran Niazi’s despicable utterances to malign institutions are touching new levels every day,” PM Shehbaz Sharif said in a tweet.

“He is now indulging in direct mud-slinging & poisonous allegations against armed forces & its leadership. His nefarious agenda is clearly to disrupt & undermine Pakistan,” the premier said.

The coalition government has been wary of Imran Khan’s speeches and accused the PTI chief of destabilising the political and economic stability.

The defence minister accused the PTI of crying foul over matters pertaining to the country. “I would reiterate that if you see the pattern of their politics and speeches over the last four months, they are trying to harm Pakistan’s economy and security institutions,” he said.

“Pakistan’s armed forces duty is only as per their oath, commitment, affiliation with this land only and only to provide security to the country and people,” he said, “protecting the country’s boundaries. Protecting any politician is not part of their oath or commitment. But if they do, they would be violating their oath.”

For such a reason, he advised Imran Khand and the political leadership should avoid making a statement that the “army or any general provides protection to anyone.”

Asif recalled Imran’s “neutral” statement.

He highlighted the role of national institutions in flood relief and accused Imran of “power grabbing”. Asif claimed that Pakistan’s nuclear-armed neighbour has been making efforts to economically harm Pakistan.

“There are still three months in the process of appointing the next army chief,” he said, “I think it is against Pakistan to make it the topic of rallies. Politicians should finish their wars on political ground.”