ISLAMABAD: Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, a former senator of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) coalition party, on Saturday accused ex-army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa of colluding with former prime minister Imran Khan’s rivals to remove him from the office, local media reported.
Khan has been decrying his ouster through a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in April and says it was part of a United States-backed conspiracy, hatched in connivance with his political rivals and with alleged backing of the country’s all-powerful military. Washington, Khan's rivals and the military deny the accusations.
Khan's bitter criticism of General Bajwa led to a public debate about the role of military in Pakistan’s political system, particularly resonating with young, social-media-savvy Pakistanis, who came out in fierce condemnation of what they deem entrenched corruption and the invisible hand of the army in the country’s politics.
During his farewell speech as the army chief, General Bajwa dismissed Khan’s allegations against him as "fake and false," but admitted it was the military’s “illegal” and “unconstitutional” interference in politics in the past that had invited criticism. He stressed the army would no longer play any role in national politics moving forward.
But the matter again became the center of public debate after Khokhar accused General Bajwa of supporting the no-trust move against Khan.
“In light of the political events that took place [last year] and how [politicians] admitted things later, a lot of evidence has come to the fore that General Bajwa supported the [no-trust move],” Khokhar told a local TV channel in an interview.
The former PPP senator also commented on General Bajwa’s extension as the army chief during the reign of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, saying the establishment had influenced the process.
Pakistan's former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa arrives to attend the Pakistan Day parade in Islamabad on March 23, 2019. (AFP/File)
General Bajwa was to retire on November 29, 2019 after serving in the office for three years. But Khan, who was the premier at the time, provided the general another three-year extension, citing the regional security situation.
“The legislation to extend his tenure was a historic one as it was passed within 12 minutes,” Khokhar said, adding that General Bajwa wanted an extension, therefore a law related to the extension was introduced.
“Bajwa maneuvered the [process], therefore, all politicians had to vote in favor of that legislation,” he added.
