ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday out rightly rejected the reports that he proposed an extension in the tenure of incumbent Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa till the next elections.
A day earlier, in an interview to a private TV channel, he had suggested that the appointment of the next army chief could be “deferred” till fresh elections are held, and then whoever forms new government should make the important appointment.
To a question by the interviewer about extension to the incumbent army chief, Khan had said: “A legal way out can be looked into. It’s not a big deal. In the interest of the country, a way out can be looked into. My legal aides have told me that a legal way out can be sorted out for formation of new government”.
In a meeting with a select group of journalists; however, Imran Khan said: “I never talked about the extension of the army chief’s tenure; I just proposed to defer the appointment of the army chief till the new elections.”
During the meeting, Khan said that the newly-elected government should decide the army chief’s selection on merit, adding that he never said who should be the military’s head.
Appointment of COAS is done on merit, says Asif
“I did not say anything to elicit a statement from Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR),” he said, adding that the two families – Sharifs and Zardaris– should never select the head of the armed forces.
The former prime minister said that he has decided to call on the nation to protest against the government in September.
Khan has been making headlines since his ouster in April because of his constant remarks regarding the army chief.
Earlier this month, while speaking during a public rally in Faisalabad, the PTI chairman had called out the government, saying that it was delaying the elections to appoint an army chief of its own and that if a “patriotic chief of army staff comes in, he will not spare the incumbent rulers”.
Earlier in the day, in a tweet, while referring to Khan’s interview, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said that Imran Khan had put forth a practical formula for the political future and restoration of democracy in the country.
“We need to proceed with this formula as the worsening economic condition cannot afford the burden of any further political instability in the country. For holding elections, the current status quo of the establishment could be maintained,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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