He had named Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, alleging that they were responsible for making a "state above the state" and for the presence of "two governments" in the country, among other things.

"It saddens me to see generals' names being taken at rallies — whether those held by the prime minister or the opposition. This weakens the integrity of our institutions, which we do not want," he was quoted as saying to reporters by Dawn News.

"But what can we do when the army is deployed at polling stations in general elections [and] Imran Khan says in every speech 'this or that institution is with me, we are all on the same page'?" Bilawal asked, accusing the prime minister of using institutions as "political props," he said.

"When we take the establishment's name, we realise that only today's generals or retired generals [are not to be blamed] but it is a part of our history that we either received dictatorship or a controlled democracy," he said, adding that the opposition wanted to see complete and true democracy in the country.

Bhutto said the opposition wants to see every institution doing its own job and the army "protecting the borders instead of polling stations".