Says efforts to debar me underway to bring Nawaz back
\n LAHORE
\nFormer prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has asserted that his decision to extend former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa\u2019s tenure in 2019 was a \u2018blunder\u2019.
\nSpeaking to international media, the former premier continued his criticism of Gen (retd) Qamar Javad Bajwa, saying that terming the extension of former army chief\u2019s tenure a \u2018blunder\u2019
\nImran Khan claimed that ex-COAS Bajwa acquired the services of former Pakistani ambassador to US Hussain Haqqani to lobby against him in United States. \u201cFor the first time in Pakistan\u2019s history, the people did not accept the regime change,\u201d he said.
\nIn response to a question, the PTI chairman lambasted the postings and transfers in Punjab following the dissolution of provincial assembly, saying that such people were being appointed who were involved in \u2018violence\u2019 during party\u2019s May 25 long march. Imran Khan said he feared the upcoming by-elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) will be rigged. He added that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif wants his disqualification.
\n\u201cEfforts to debar him underway in bid to bring former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif back to the country\u2019s political scenario,\u201d he said. Speaking of the terror wave, the former premier said that the country cannot afford terrorism. However, he said, the incumbent government in Afghanistan was not anti-Pakistan. Speaking of the peace in Afghanistan, Mr Khan took a dig at Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, saying, \u201cMr Bhutto-Zardari could go to the United States for lunch. But, he is not willing to land in Afghanistan for the sake of peace.\u201d
\nEarlier in February, Imran Khan said that he was on same page with former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, till the later demanded an NRO for the \u2018political opponents\u2019. The then-government and Establishment were on the same page during the coronavirus pandemic and the \u201cworld lauded our policies\u2019. Imran Khan said that the ties with Gen Bajwa strained when the latter demanded an NRO for the \u2018political opponents\u2019.
\n\u201cThe former army chief was against the accountability drive as he demanded an NRO and changes in National Accountability Bureau (NAB),\u201d he alleged.
\nThe 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 retd Lt Gen Faiz Hameed as Director-General (DG) Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
\nTalking about the Punjab\u2019s political situation, Mr Khan lamented, \u201cSuch people were imposed in the province, who were responsible for the May 25 incident.\u201d Khan feared the possibility of rigging in the elections. He recalled the demand for holding elections within 90 days, adding that it was up to the concerned institutions to ensure the holding of the polls.
\nThe deposed premier spoke of his \u201cJail Bharo Movement,\u201d saying it was the peaceful movement, during which he would be the first to surrender. \u201cIt will take me two more weeks to recover completely from the injuries, after which I will lead the movement by myself,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Says efforts to debar me underway to bring Nawaz back LAHORE Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has asserted that his decision to extend former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa\u2019s tenure in 2019 was a \u2018blunder\u2019. Speaking to international media, the former premier continued his criticism […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":309236,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[11906],"class_list":{"0":"post-312350","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-imran-kh"},"yoast_head":"\n