Former PM of Pakistan Imran Khan.
Highlight
- Imran Khan was removed from the post of PM of Pakistan by a coalition of several parties in April.
- The cricketer-turned-politician clarified that he never planned to appoint an army chief of his choice
- He alleged that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif looted the country’s property.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday that he had never planned to bring in an army chief of his choice, as alleged by his opponents.
Khan was ousted in April by a multi-party coalition that alleged, among other reasons, that the former prime minister was planning to promote his trusted ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed as the country’s new army chief. Were were
Addressing a seminar in Islamabad, the cricketer-turned-politician clarified that he never planned to appoint an army chief of his choice in November 2022, when the current army chief’s term ends.
“Allah is my witness, I say I never thought who would be the army chief in November. Imran Khan did not need to appoint his own army chief,” he said.
He alleged that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif looted the country’s wealth and was planning to control state institutions, including the military, to protect his corruption.
Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khurram Dastgir had said that Khan wanted to bring in an army chief of his choice.
Referring to the statement, the former Prime Minister said, ‘I had not even thought that who would be the next Chief of Army Staff of the country. We had decided to appoint the next army chief on merit basis when the time came.”
However, 69-year-old Khan said that the leaders of the PML-N and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) are apprehensive about the appointment of Lt Gen Faiz Hameed as the next Chief of Army Staff.
“They were afraid that I wanted to appoint Lt Gen Faiz. He was afraid that if this happened, it would spoil his future.
He reiterated that his opponents were afraid of the army as their ‘theft’ is reported to the ISI and other sensitive agencies.
“Since Nawaz Sharif and Zardari stole money, they want to control institutions,” he alleged.
The deposed prime minister also attacked Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, saying that he had asked the “neutral” (i.e. military) that there were corruption cases against Shahbaz and questioned the neutrality of the army.
“I ask neutral people if there is a burglary in the house, can the watchman remain neutral?”
He also announced that he would never accept the current imported government.
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