Pak: Imran Khan blames army chief for his exit
LAHORE: In a veiled attack on Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, former prime minister Imran Khan has alleged that “some elements” in the powerful establishment who indulged in “bad practices” were responsible for his unceremonious ouster from power.
Addressing party workers on Twitter on Wednesday night, Imran said: “There are also humans in institutions. If one or two individuals do something wrong, the entire institution is not responsible. If one person (in an apparent reference to Army chief Gen Bajwa) makes a mistake, this does not mean that the whole institution is at fault.”
Former information minister Fawad Chaudhry told a news channel on Wednesday that relations between the establishment and Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) government had strained for months. “We tried our best, including myself, to remove misunderstandings with the establishment but could not succeed,” he said.
According to experts, Khan, who was ousted on April 10 after the National Assembly passed a no-confidence motion against him, had apparently lost support of the Army after he refused to endorse the appointment of Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum as the ISI spy agency chief last year. Finally, he agreed but it soured his ties with the Army.
PM orders ‘foolproof security’ for Khan
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday directed the interior ministry to take effective and immediate steps to provide “foolproof security” to ousted premier Imran Khan in the wake of threats. The threat alert was issued by the security agencies ahead of his planned participation in a rally in Lahore on Thursday. Khan, who was asked to address his supporters virtually, has declined to do so.
A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office on Twitter said that Sharif has directed the interior ministry to take measures.
“Shehbaz Sharif has directed the Interior Division to take effective and immediate steps for provision of foolproof security to ex-premier Imran Khan. He further said that peaceful public meetings are part of democracy and instructed that no hurdle should be created,” it said.
Khan is set to address a rally at Minar-e-Pakistan, which will be his first power show in Lahore since April 10 when he was ousted from the office.