Ex-COAS did not want accountability in the county, hence, his relations with General (retd) Bajwa turned worsened: Imran Khan
LAHORE, Jan 01 (SABAH): Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has claimed that ex-chief of army staff (COAS) General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa’s “setup is still working in the establishment”.
During in an interaction with journalists in Lahore on Sunday, Imran Khan, without taking the name of the army chief, said: “In Pakistan, the establishment is the name of one person.”
Imran Khan said the former army chief did not want accountability in the county, hence, his relations with General (retd) Bajwa turned worsened.
Referring to a question, Imran Khan said General (retd) Bajwa was expressing solidarity with him after stabbing him in the back.
Recalling his last meeting with the former army chief, Imran Khan said General Bajwa termed him a “playboy”, adding that he replied: “Yes, I had been a playboy.”
The former army chief was against the rule of law in the country, Imran Khan also accused Bajwa.
The former prime minister accused General (retd) Bajwa of hiring the services of Husain Haqqani, former Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, for lobbying in the US.
The deposed prime minister also said Haqqani launched a campaign against him and had been promoting the former army chief in the US.
Turning his guns towards former president and ex-army chief general (retd) Pervez Musharraf, Imran Khan said he made dollars by “selling terrorism”. “Dollars can be obtained by selling terrorism,” the ousted premier added. However, 80,000 people lost their lives due to Musharraf’s actions, he added.
The country will only progress when the army and all political parties would be on the same page, Imran Khan added.
The military operation, he went on to say, is not the solution to any issue, adding that he always raised his voice against operations in Waziristan.
Talking about the prevailing political crisis in the county, the former prime minister reiterated that the PTI would not return to the National Assembly. He added that it would be a fruitless practice. “What will we do by going to the National Assembly, there is no benefit,” he said.
Lashing out at the establishment yet again, Imran Khan said that three of their lawmakers were asked to remain neutral during the vote of confidence in the Punjab Assembly. “The MQM factions are being united and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) leaders are included in the PPP (to counter the PTI in the next election),” Imran Khan alleged.
Stressing the need for free and fair elections, the PTI chairman said that transparent elections will bring stability to the country. He also slammed the “game of audio leaks” in the country.
Lambasting the coalition government, Imran Khan said Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari did not know anything about Afghanistan.
The former prime minister lauded the foreign policy of his government, saying that they had been enjoying cordial ties with the current regime in the war-torn country.
Criticising the appointment of Najam Sethi as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Management Committee, Imran said “he does not know the ABC of cricket”.
“[The] PCB constitution was changed to bring Sethi. Unfortunately, because of him, cricket has been ruined before and will be again,” he stated.
Imran also said that the Pakistan team had reached the final under former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja. “Rameez Raja is an educated man, he understands cricket, what does Najam Sethi know?” questioned Imran.