Leaders of the PDM-led ruling coalition have reacted to PTI chief Imran Khan’s latest proposal to appoint the next Chief of Army Staff (COAS).
The former prime minister suggested in a TV interview on Monday that the tenure of the current COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa should be extended till new elections are held in the country and the next COAS should be appointed by the government. Who came to power after such elections. He also said that it is important to be transparent.
PPP Leader and Prime Minister’s Advisor on Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs Qamar Zaman Kaira said that Army Chief General Bajwa has already said that he will not accept another extension.
Muslim League (N) leader Tariq Fazl said that there is a procedure for the appointment of COAS in the constitution, which is done by the prime minister.
Speaking on Nadeem Malik Live, he said that we do not need any suggestion from Imran Khan.
He said that this is the fourth time that Imran has tried to create controversy on this issue.
Hours before Dunya News aired Imran Khan’s interview, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told that Imran Khan was trying to open the “doors of dialogue” with the establishment in his “frustration of power”. .
He said that on the one hand they are attacking them [the establishment] and on the other hand they also want to open the doors of dialogue or dialogue, adding that Imran Khan is using pressure tactics.
Khawaja Asif was responding to Imran Khan’s statement which he had given in a rally over the weekend.
The PTI chief had said that if the country’s economy sinks, the nation will hold the establishment responsible.
Khawaja Asif said that when Imran Khan was patronized by the establishment he appreciated its role and now he wanted the establishment to support him again.
The minister said that Imran Khan has nothing to do with democracy and had a dictatorial mindset, which was revealed by Imran’s efforts to open negotiation with the establishment
Imran wanted to hold talks at “gunpoint” so that he could get back his government by whatever means he could, said Khawaja Asif.
The minister also said that PTI-PMLQ government had closed graft cases against PTI leaders in Punjab after coming back to power in the province.
