Army chief may continue until new govt formed: Imran

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan Monday mooted the idea that Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa should be given extension till election and installation of the new government.

In an interview with a TV channel, he asked, “How could a fugitive with 85 seats [in the National Assembly] select the army chief? If they (the sitting government) win the election, they can choose the chief, I have no problem.”

The programme host asked Imran, “Elections would be held after 90 days as it’s not possible before that. So are you saying what should happen on the day of retirement of Gen Bajwa?” Imran Khan replied, “Its provision can be found; it’s not a big deal. It’s provision can be found out for country’s betterment. Lawyers have told me a provision for new government to take this decision can be found out.”

When asked again about Gen Bajwa’s extension, Imran said, “....I am only saying that the country is facing extraordinary circumstances. In this period, we should think what decsion were going to take to pull the country out of a quagmire.”

He maintained that they had cautioned those who have more power that energy prices were going up and if political instability happened, then none would be able to handle the economy.

He emphasised that unless political stability was achieved, there would be no economic stability. He continued that “if you are not taking the first step, then you have no chance”. And, he added, if economic stability was not achieved and Pakistan defaulted, then, he feared, Pakistan’s security would be impacted.

“We will be asked to do certain things, and then they will give us funds,” he noted. The PTI chairman said that the recent floods were caused by rains and because of these floods, Pakistan’s food security would also be hurt, for crops were destroyed and there were apprehensions that if the soil did not dry up on time, then wheat crop could not be sown.

To a question about the conduct of immediate elections, he said that on the one hand it was a test, and on the other, the economy was going down. “When we were ousted, the discount on Pakistani bonds was 4 per cent at the global level, which has now reached 50 per cent, as there is a fear that Pakistan is heading towards default.”

He alleged that the way the government was moving, they had no solution and political stability could come with elections. He pointed out that on the one hand, there were floods, and on the other, a greater disaster was going to happen if the country defaulted.

Imran said that whatever he would do would be within the ambit of the Constitution. “They should give me a roadmap that what steps they would take with which light could be seen ahead. The longer these people sit in the government, Pakistan will plunge deeper into troubles. The real impact of floods will be seen during winter,” he warned.

The PTI chairman said Pakistan was facing a major challenge, having no easy option at hand and whosoever would come to power would face a mountain of problems. Imran made it clear that he was not saying that he had all solutions. However, the first criterion would be political stability and a strong government should be formed after winning the mandate and with this, political and economic stability would start. “If first step is not being taken now, then you have no chance,” he said.

About the dissolution of the PTI government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, he said they had this option in their hands, saying, “we have governments and we can tender resignations. We are mutually considering this that at what time we can do this. They (rulers) are saying that we should work together, but they are pushing us to the wall. And, they are thinking that we will sit quiet for the country is in difficulties”.

He said he could take the nation out on roads, on a two-hour call; people will take to the streets, adding it was not difficult to turn it like Sri Lanka, as people were ready. In response to a question about dialogue with the government, Imran Khan said that these people fear that whenever elections would be held, they would lose; if they sit in the government, it is worse, if they come out of the government and hold elections, they have to lose; so now they do not have a decision in their hands, either we put pressure on them, we have to. There are three ideas, but we will remain within the Constitution.

“All Pakistanis should be worried,” he warned. “The kind of restrictions they are imposing today were witnessed during former president Pervez Musharraf’s tenure. They tried to scare, suppress and intimidate PTI leaders and workers”.

Imran Khan said all tactics being employed by the coalition government would fail, as he neither succumbed to any pressure in the past nor it would happen in future. To another question be the anchorperson, he said: “I haven’t seen an election commission so biased”, and related the entire episode of the incumbent chief election commissioner’s appointment.

Khan accused chief election commissioner of “sabotaging the electronic voting machine (EVM) project”, adding that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) made all efforts to defeat the PTI in Punjab’s July 17 polls.