Rawalpindi, May 8 (IANS): Pakistan Army on Monday lashed out at former Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief has levelled "highly irresponsible and baseless allegation" against a serving senior military officer without any evidence, media reports said.

"This fabricated and malicious allegation is extremely unfortunate, deplorable and unacceptable. This has been a consistent pattern for last one year wherein military and intelligence officials are targeted with insinuations and sensational propaganda for the furtherance of political objectives," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement, The Express Tribune reported.

"We ask the political leader concerned to make a recourse to legal avenues and stop levelling false allegations," it added.

The ISPR also said that the institution reserves the right to take legal course against patently false and malafide statements and propaganda.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari have also slammed Khan's serious allegation against the army, Geo News reported.

Berating the PTI chief, the Prime Minister said that Khan's act of routinely maligning and threatening the Pakistan Army and an intelligence agencies for the sake of petty political gains is highly condemnable.

"His levelling of allegations without any proof against General Faisal Naseer and officers of our intelligence agency cannot be allowed and will not be tolerated," he said, Geo News reported.

On the other hand, former President Asif Ali Zardari said the PTI chief has crossed all limits to defame institutions, which will not be tolerated anymore.