New army chief shouldn’t follow policies of his predecessor: Imran Khan

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LAHORE
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan said on Thursday that he was the prime minister and never called former army chief retired General Qamar Javed Bajwa his boss and the new army chief should not follow the policies of his predecessor.
Speaking to the YouTubers at his residence in Lahore’s Zaman Park on Thursday, Imran Khan noted that he was familiar with Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hammed when the latter was Director-General (DG) Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
He said that he had never thought about appointing General Faiz Hameed as the Army Chief but propaganda was hatched against him. The former prime minister said that Punjab Chief Minister Parvaiz Elahi has fully entrusted him and will do as he want.
The PTI chairman went on to say that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was under the establishment and it only kept its hands on the weak, adding that the society is not stabilized until there is justice.
In response to a question, the former premier said that people should be educated about religion to prevent religious extremism. “Society cannot develop until there is justice,,” he noted.
Regarding the assassination attempt in Wazirabad, Imran Khan said that the attack was planned for almost two and a half months. “The video of the attacker was released for a purpose,” he added.
He also termed the return of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s son – Suleman Shehbaz – an NRO-II. “Two families – Sharifs and Zardaris – have weakened all institutions. Responding to another question, the PTI Chairman said a First Information Report (FIR) should have been lodged on the request of Arshad Sharif’s mother.
Earlier, Imran Khan said that his government’s decision to give extension to former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa was ‘a mistake’. While terming the decision a mistake, Imran Khan said that no one should ever get an extension in the army.
“When we came into power, our government was facing several problems,” he said, adding that extension to former COAS Bajwa was inevitable. “I would trust whatever ex-COAS General Bajwa said. I would tell him that both of us are thinking about the country; our only purpose was to save the country,” he said, adding that he didn’t know how he was being lied to and betrayed.
He further said that he received a report from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) about a game being played, adding that his informant from the IB would notify him verbally and not in writing following fears.
On Wednesday, talking to media flanked by party leaders Sheerin Mazari, Fawad Chaudhry, and Asad Umar, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vice chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that party chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan made his decision and dissolution of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies was likely in the next few days.
He said the PTI chairman had summoned a meeting of party’s senior leadership in which the PTI leadership has given Imran Khan the right to dissolve assemblies. The PTI vice chairman said Imran Khan took everyone into confidence about his decision during the meeting, adding that the only solution to the country’s problems was holding snap polls.
The former foreign minister went on to say that it s the decision of the government if they wanted to give priority to its own interests over the country by not holding snap elections that could further sick country.
“We want that the process of elections gets completed in Punjab and KP before Ramzan”, he added. Qureshi said that Imran Khan s desire is not to delay the dissolution of assemblies and everyone has supported his position, adding that the incumbent government has no plan as it has lost the confidence of the business class.
“There is no investment, the economy is on downward trend, adding that the stance of Miftah Ismail and Ishaq Dar is before everyone.”