Imran Khan and the ‘gang of four’

ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan without naming the establishment alleges Mr X and Mr Y of conspiring against the PTI-supported Punjab government but Chief Minister Pervez Elahi and other senior PMLQ leaders don’t see evidence of any such scheme.

“We don’t have any such information,” a key PMLQ source confided to The News, apprehending that someone was poisoning Khan against the military establishment. The source said that we (PMLQ) have not got any such information. He explained that if there is any such development, the chief minister should be aware of it.

PMLQ sources confirm that quite a few times, Chief Minister Pervez Elahi and his son Monis Elahi spoke to Imran Khan and advised him not to have a confrontation with the establishment. Of late during his visit to Gujrat (where he had gone to address a public rally), Imran Khan was told that any narrative against the military would be damaging for both the PTI and Imran Khan despite their popularity.

It is said that Imran Khan agrees to such advice but later he changes and issues a new statement leading to new controversy. According to a PMLQ leader, there is someone around him within the PTI poisoning him against the establishment.

Interestingly, similar views are expressed by the PTI leader Faisal Vawda. PTI sources said that Vawda believes that there is a gang of four, supported by others, within the party responsible for creating mistrust between the establishment and Imran Khan by provoking the party chairman with false information.

These sources said that the “gang of four” comprise ambitious people, who are also misguiding him over courts so they can have advantage. In a recent high level meeting, chaired by Imran Khan, Vawda warned Imran Khan that he was surrounded by snakes in the grass who wanted to see Imran Khan disqualified for their personal political ambitions.

Faisal Vawda, these sources said, also insists that those within the PTI claiming to have been offered prime ministership are telling a blatant lie. Vawda is the most vocal voice within the PTI who speak against Imran Khan’s policy of confronting the establishment. According to the PTI sources, there are some others too who in the IHC contempt case also feel that Imran Khan has been ill-advised and is being pushed to a situation where his political career gets into serious trouble.

Following Imran Khan’s recent highly controversial statement about the need to have a “patriotic” (Muhibulwatan) and “daring” (Tagra) Army Chief, Chief Minister Punjab Pervez Elahi issued a pro-army and pro-army chief statement that was considered by some as a rejoinder to Khan’s utterance.

Pervez Elahi praised the incumbent Army Chief for his contributions and said that those involved in anti-army utterance are the enemies of Pakistan and Islam. Pervez Elahi said that Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s contributions for Pakistan and Islam are admirable. On the contrary, Imran Khan is continuously attacking the top military leadership for making the alleged US conspiracy to topple his government successful.