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Despite his being a subordinate, general (retd) Bajwa had long been asking me to remove Usman Buzdar: Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD, Dec 10, (SABAH): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday said former chief of army staff (COAS) general (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa had asked him to remove the then Punjab chief minister Sardar Usman Ahmed Khan Buzdar.

“Despite his being a subordinate, general (retd) Bajwa had long been asking me to remove Usman Buzdar, which was a strange demand,” Imran Khan said in an interview with a private TV channel.

The former prime minister said Qamar Javed Bajwa asked him to remove Usman Buzdar and appoint Abdul Aleem Khan. “I told him that there were cases of billions of rupees’ corruption against Aleem Khan, so how he could appoint him the CM,” he said. Imran Khan said that the LDA informed him that Abdul Aleem Khan illegally occupied land of billions of rupees and sold the plots. Imran Khan said that we decided to remove Usman Buzdar and appoint Abdul Aleem Khan, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi refused to support him.

He said they could clearly see that if their government was removed then the economy would go in tailspin, despite showing all the positive indicators, due to political instability. The current situation of economy was due to policies of the coalition government that had been ruling for over 30 years, he maintained. Imran Khan said that he had sent Shaukat Tarin to make understand General Bajwa that if our government was toppled then no one will be able to control the economy.

Imran Khan said that constitutionally General Bajwa was his subordinate but he considered General Bajwa as colleague.

On Rana Sanaullah’s challenging Imran Khan to dissolve assemblies, the PTI supremo said Rana Sanaullah was a scoundrel and criminal person and he did not take his remarks seriously. “It will not take long as we are preparing for dissolution of assemblies and the caretaker government that will come around 48 hours after that,” he said adding that the assemblies would be dissolved within December.

To a query, Imran Khan said even though Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi believed that the government should stay for few months, however he expressed that whatever Imran Khan as PTI chairman would say he would accept it.

He denied the rumour that Parvez Elahi had demanded to re-appoint him as the CM for next five years if the PTI again came into power after dissolution of the provincial assembly.

Calling all those people involved in ousting his government as “Mir Jaffer and Mir Sadiq”, he said: “Whatever happened with PTI during the last seven months was all because of ex-COAS General Bajwa’s policies.”

“Gen (retd) Bajwa would say nobody will take a ticket from PTI and PML-N would form the new government,” he claimed. Imran Khan alleged that during his government’s tenure, General (retd) Bajwa controlled the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

“NAB was under Bajwa’s control; therefore, he decided who would go in and who will be released. It was not in our hands,” the PTI chief said. He alleged the former army chief would oversee who should be arrested and who shouldn’t.

“We did not have the authority. Those who did, they provided relief to them. NAB was not under our control. They [military] had influence everywhere,” he said. The former prime minister added that he was asked to deal with the economy and leave accountability to them.

Berating the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government, the ex-premier said the multi-party alliance was “trying hard” to get him disqualified. “[PML-N] supremo Nawaz Sharif is trying to close all cases against himself and disqualify me,” he added.

Shedding light on the prevailing situation in the country, Imran Khan reiterated his demand for elections, linking economic growth with political stability. “Whether they hold elections now or after 10 years they [PDM] will lose,” he claimed.

While referring to the Punjab by-polls results that were held in July, the PTI chief said that those who left the party to join the PDM were punished for doing so in the by-polls — as the party won a majority of the seats up for grabs.

Condemning the dismissal of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif’s cases, Imran Khan said: “Nawaz Sharif will not return until his cases are dismissed. If he comes to Punjab, then he will be arrested. The former premier added that General (retd) Bajwa considered Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif a “genius”.

To another query, he said initially the civil-military leadership had a good harmony especially during the coronavirus period. He said that when general Bajwa was used to cross his limit that chief minister of my choice should be appointed, adding that it is same as ask him to appoint corps commanders of my choice.

He said he never wanted to appoint army chief of his choice, adding that this controversy started from last June, adding that who thinks one and half years ago that who will be the next army chief. He said it was merely propaganda against him. However, he admitted that General (retd) Faiz Hameed had strong strategic relations in Afghanistan and central Asian countries, hence his presence was crucial after the US pull-out from Afghanistan.

To a query, Imran Khan said former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Khurram Dastagir, Ahsan Iqbal and Maryam had themselves admitted that no-confidence motion could never be succeeded against a PM unless the establishment backed it. “Whoever allowed the regime change were Mir Jaffers and Mir Sadiqs and they committed treason with the country,” he maintained. Said that whatever happened with Pakistan in seven months even enemy could not do this. He said that the country is on the verge of default, adding that if country is defaulted the currency of the country will be devalued and where rupee will stop no one could predict about it. Imran Khan said that we have no foreign exchange reserves to support the rupee.

Imran Khan said that the PTI will win the elections whether these are held after 10 months or one year, adding that Election Commission of Pakistan is being used for disqualifying me.

Replying a question, Imran Khan said that no helicopter landed at the prime minister office between the night of 9th and 10th April, adding that he did not knew whether the prison vans were present outside the prime minister house and he had no idea about it. Imran Khan said that “If anyone had slapped him between the night of 9th and 10th April, do not think I had sit silently and no one knew about it, its implications would have gone in whole world”.