I was on same page with General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa till NRO demand, claims Imran Khan

LAHORE, Feb 01 (SABAH): Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has asserted that he was on same page with former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, till the later demanded an NRO for the political opponents.

Addressing a press conference via video link, Imran Khan said that the then government and establishment were on the same page during the coronavirus pandemic and the world lauded their policies.

He said that the ties with Gen (retd) Bajwa strained when the latter demanded an NRO for the political opponents. “The former army chief was against the accountability drive as he demanded an NRO and changes in National Accountability Bureau (NAB),” he alleged.

The former prime minister noted that his whole struggle was for the supremacy of law and justice. He claimed that his relations with Gen Bajwa were further strained over the removal of Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed as director-general Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Meanwhile, the PTI chief while speaking to senior journalists at Lahore claimed that his strategy to dissolve Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies has worked out well as the government is finding itself stuck in a ‘blind alley’.

He said that if the assemblies were not dissolved, there were no chances of general elections in the days to come. “As soon as the assemblies were dissolved, the government entered a blind alley… dissolving the assemblies was my best strategy. If the elections are not held in 90 days, the Constitution will be violated.”

The former ruling party in the two provinces has dissolved the assemblies last month in a bid to pressure the unity government at the Centre to hold early elections across the country.

Imran further said he is standing by his statement given about PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, adding that the former president is free to file the defamation suit against him as “defamation is claimed by those who themselves have any respect”.

The Pakistan Peoples’ Party last week exploded in recriminations over Imran Khan’s allegations that Zardari was plotting a “Plan C” with the aid of a terrorist outfit to assassinate him, and announced its decision to take the matter to court.  Imran Khan during Wednesday’s media interaction further said that he will start the election campaign after getting well, as he has to go through another medical check-up. The PTI chief had sustained bullet injuries to his leg during a party rally in November.