Military leadership met PM Imran Khan on govt request

ISLAMABAD: In response to PM Imran Khan’s claim that military establishment brought to him three options from the Opposition, sources in the military establishment said that the military leadership did not bring the Opposition’s options rather the civilian government telephoned the top brass and asked for a meeting to discuss the ongoing political scenario.

On the request of the government, Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and the ISI DG met Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday evening, informed the source adding that during the meeting, three options were mutually discussed between the civilian and military leadership.

The three available options after the filing of no-confidence move in the National Assembly that were mutually discussed between the government and military side were ‘facing the no-confidence move’, ‘resignation’ or ‘dissolving the assembly’. However, the prime minister rejected the first two options and agreed to the third one which, according to him, was workable, the military sources informed.

The military sources further said that after those mutual discussions with the prime minister, both the COAS and DG ISI met the Opposition leadership on the same day and conveyed the three options discussed between the military establishment and the civilian leadership. But the Opposition rejected those options including dissolution of the assembly.

The military leadership further conveyed to the Opposition parties’ leaders that they were not meeting them to interfere in the political matters but to convey the mutually discussed three options with the Opposition parties, said the military sources.

An informed source further told The News that the establishment would not take any side, stay neutral but encourage both Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Opposition leaders to sit and talk about a better future, strong economy and the political stability of the country.

Prime Minister Imran Khan in an interview to a private television channel claimed that the military establishment brought to him three options of the Opposition parties. According to the premier, he was offered either to resign or dissolve the assemblies otherwise face the no-confidence move.