PM Shehbaz to name next army chief: Fazl

PESHAWAR: Ridiculing Imran Khan’s statements about the army chief’s appointment and early elections, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President and head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) Maulana Fazlur Rahman on Sunday said that the army chief would be named by the prime minister and elections would be held on time.

“He used to demand the sacking of the army chief earlier. Now he wants an extension for the army chief. It is not about an extension to the army chief. The matter is whether or not he (Imran Khan) should be given more time and it would be decided by the parliament,” the Maulana said while speaking at the provincial general council of the party, which met here on Sunday.

The Maulana was also critical of another statement of the PTI chairman about the appointment of new army chief. “He (Imran) says the army chief should not be appointed by the prime minister. Who else would appoint the army chief other than the prime minister? Would you appoint him? You have damaged the honour and integrity of the army,” he stressed.

Maulana Fazl went on to ridicule the former prime minister, saying: “He says he would give a call for protest. You give a call. Hakeem Sanaullah is already waiting for you.

“He says he would not give more time to the government, which is yet another joke. Who has sought time from you? We have already snatched the time you were enjoying,” Fazl said.

Fazl said that Imran was a drama, which has badly flopped. He wanted the judiciary, army and bureaucracy of his choice. “If the judiciary gives a decision not favourable to him, he would term it wrong. If the election commission announces its decision in the foreign funding case, he would level allegations against it and term it partial. If the army stops supporting him, he would make accusations against the army and its officers,” the PDM chief said.

Fazl alleged that the PTI chief was holding secret meetings with the US officials and he was following their dictations. Simultaneously, he was fooling the nation by raising anti-US slogans. He said that the real face of PTI has been exposed and he has been thrown out of the corridors of power.

Meanwhile, the meeting of the general council of JUIF continued with provincial president of the party Maulana Attaur Rahman in the chair.

The meeting urged the election commission to take notice of the use of official resources, including a helicopter of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, by PTI Chief Imran Khan for his election campaign.

The meeting discussed that the provincial government was misusing the government funds meant for dengue virus and other resources on the election campaign of Imran Khan. The meeting urged the election commission and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to take notice of the blatant violations of election laws and misuse of official resources.

The meeting also criticised the provincial government for its alleged failure to maintain law and order in the province.

The participants in the meeting said that a wave of lawlessness has returned to the province owing to the incompetence of the PTI government.

The meeting also discussed the situation of floods in the province. The participants expressed satisfaction over the relief activities carried out by the JUIF in the flood-affected areas.