President Dr Arif Alvi denies saying former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa helped PTI in elections, Senate
ISLAMABAD, Dec 26 (SABAH): President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday dismissed a report quoting him as saying that former army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa helped the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) during the 2018 general elections and in the Senate, terming it to be out of context and self-concocted.
The statement issued by the President’s Secretariat came after a newspaper published a report wherein it quoted Dr Alvi telling journalists, leaders of the business community and foreign diplomats during a dinner that Qamar Javed Bajwa and his team helped PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the Senate and the elections.
The statement issued said that Dr Arif Alvi had taken notice of the statement wrongly attributed to him. The statement has been quoted out of reference to the context and is twisted and self-concocted, it added.
According to the report, Dr Arif Alvi was asked during the gathering about the souring of relations between the PTI chief and former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa to which he replied that he was still looking for the answer. The President said it was probably in October last year and then in April or May this year, the report said.
The president, according to the publication, was also asked whether Imran at any stage thought about sacking the former army chief, to which, he responded: “No, I don’t think so. That was a rumour.”
Dr Alvi, as per the report, said he had also verbally suggested to both the government and opposition that a middle ground might be found and elections could be held at the end of April or in May.
It is pertinent to mention that former army chief Bajwa and the military were accused of helping the PTI not only come into power but run its affairs. Recently, Minister for Economic Affairs Ayaz Sadiq urged former army chief Bajwa to reveal his role in the 2018 general elections in ensuring the victory of the PTI. He claimed that the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) representatives said they were under pressure in 2018 to join the PTI.
Last week, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, an ally of the PTI, had also reminded ungrateful PTI about the favours of the ex-COAS upon the party and warned it to keep criticism of the former army chief within limits.