PM picks apart PTI's 'disgusting' smear drive against army chief.

ISLAMABAD -- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday censured Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for brazenly attempting to tarnish the reputation of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir.

Taking to Twitter, the Prime Minister said: "PTI's disgusting smear campaign against Chief of the Army Staff General Asim Munir at the behest of Imran Niazi is deserving of the strongest condemnation."

The campaign against the COAS was intolerable and the continuation of a conspiracy against the national institutions, according to a PM Office press release.

Throwing yet another brickbat at the PTI chairman, the premier said: "This man Niazi [Imran Khan] is stooping to unprecedented lows in his desperation for power and going to the extent of damaging the country and undermining our armed forces and their leadership."

Khan, a former cricket star, was prime minister from 2018 until 2022 when he was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote. Since then he has been demanding a snap election and holding protest rallies across the country to press his case.

His successor as prime minister, Shehbaz, has rejected his demand and said an election would be held as scheduled later this year.

Khan, 70, is facing several legal cases, including one that prompted a failed attempt to arrest him on Tuesday after a court issued warrants for his arrest for not appearing before it.

The prime minister urged overseas Pakistanis to raise their voice against the 'foreign-funded' campaign. He said as the dirty political game was being played through the expatriates, they should not become part of the conspiracy.

Imran Khan was violating the constitution by dragging the institutions and their leadership into his 'dirty' politics, the PM added.

The prime minister also instructed the interior minister to strictly deal with those...