Imran chose to attack army when it went neutral: ex-AJK PM

ISLAMABAD: Former Azad Jammu and Kashmir prime minister and senior PTI leader Sardar Tanveer Ilyas on Sunday claimed that ex-premier Imran Khan opted for an anti-army narrative, after the military decided to remain neutral at the time of no-trust motion.

Addressing a news conference, he contended that Imran desperately wanted the army to thwart the no-confidence motion against him, however, the army had already decided to remain neutral in the whole situation at that time.

“And, this led Imran to summon a meeting, wherein he declared that now an anti-army narrative has to be developed and adopted. After a few days, by waving a piece of paper, the army was awarded titles like Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq,” he maintained.

Former AJK PM believed that Imran Khan was inciting the emotions of the youth against the army and this had to be stopped, adding this is a very dangerous thing.

When asked if he was speaking against Imran Khan after having lost his slot of prime minister, Tanveer Ilyas clarified that the PTI chairman had not removed him as AJK prime minister.

He said that Imran Khan was trying to make the army and army chief controversial under a conspiracy as PTI’s long march just two days before the appointment of the army chief was its proof. “We told Imran Khan that local bodies elections are being held in Azad Kashmir”.

However, Imran Khan insisted that Asim Munir had to be stopped from becoming the army chief, he said, claiming under the same plot, the military installations were being attacked through sleeper cells.

He said that it was a great excess being meted out when the country was facing internal and external challenges, while 15 million Kashmiris were also looking towards Pakistan.

“Whether at Zaman Park or Bani Gala, there has been only one thing, being discussed and deliberated upon, how to come to power. Elections will be held, but first tell the nation what is your plan as you had no plan in the past and the ‘powers that be’ had helped you form a shadow cabinet and also gave a plan. Still 84 years old people like Razak Dawood, and Ishrat Hussain, who had no experience of bureaucracy, were inducted,” he said. He said there was no concept of right man for the right job.