ISLAMABAD: PTI chief Imran Khan’s desire to meet Army Chief General Asim Munir is difficult to fulfill.
There are two reasons for this. First of all, unlike his predecessor Army Chief General Asim Munir, there are no reports of meeting any politician outside the government. He has kept himself away from politics and politicians and this is what the oath of military officers requires.
Secondly, how can anyone in the military establishment trust Imran Khan and what the PTI chief did to his great benefactor, former Army Chief General (Rtd) Qamar Javed Bajwa. can take the risk of
After being dismissed from the office of the Prime Minister, Imran Khan has made various allegations against the military establishment including General Bajwa. Khan’s strategy of targeting the establishment for pressure and even accusing him of plotting his assassination has made him untrustworthy.
No one knows better than the army general what General Bajwa did to bring Imran Khan to power and how the former army chief helped him run the government. General Bajwa, who was the country’s best general during Imran Khan’s rule, was termed by the PTI chief as a traitor, conspirator and Khan’s worst enemy.
Till the last days of General Bajwa’s tenure as the Army Chief, Imran Khan has been pressuring him to oust the Shahbaz Sharif-led PDM government and pave the way for early elections.
“You still have time to review your policy,” Khan warned in August last year of the establishment’s support for the corrupt. Khan has never wanted to talk to his political opponents, who are now in government, but wants the establishment to do what suits his politics. After the change of command in the army, Imran Khan’s expectations from the current army chief remained the same.
Despite his criticism and all kinds of accusations, PTI had connections with the military establishment till the last days of General Bajwa’s power. However, with the change of command in the Pakistan Army, the PTI severed all its links with the military establishment.
PTI’s top spokesperson and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry recently confirmed to this correspondent that there has been no contact between the PTI and the military establishment at any level since the appointment of the new army chief, General Asim Munir.
When contacted by JEE News, sources in the military establishment also backed this up and insisted that being apolitical, they are not in touch with political leaders of any political party.
While the new army chief, General Asim Munir, has focused himself on purely professional matters, senior ISI officers who used to interact with or receive calls from PTI leaders in the past are now doing some kind of work. Not available for chat.
A former senior member of the military establishment recently told JEE News that now only a major-level officer is available to receive PTI’s calls. However, current establishment sources insisted that all ISI personnel have been barred from interacting with leaders of any political party.
Fawad Chaudhry said that the establishment’s claim that it is apolitical and not in touch with any political party, though impressive as a conversation, is not neutral in reality.
JEE News also quoted the claim of a source, who was close to Imran Khan until a few months ago, that the President wanted to facilitate talks between Dr Arif Ali Khan and current Army Chief General Asim Munir. were but could not be. However, this information could not be verified by independent sources.
