Daily Times

PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday rejected suggesting the extension of the tenure of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa till the next elections.

A day earlier, the former prime minister, while speaking during an interview with a private TV channel, had suggested that the appointment of an army chief should be deferred until the government is elected, which should then choose the new military head. “I never talked about the extension of the army chief’s tenure, I just proposed to defer the appointment of the army chief till the new elections,” Imran Khan said in a meeting with journalists. “The government elected after elections should decide the army chief’s appointment on merit … I never said who should be the military’s head. I did not say anything to elicit a statement from Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR),” Khan said, adding that the two families [Sharif and Zardari] should never select the head of the armed forces.

Imran Khan said that his proposal for the extension of the army chief’s tenure is “subject to the announcement of the early elections”. “The appointment of the army chief should be delayed until the election of a new government,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, the PTI chief said that ‘a few individuals have put the national security at stake for their own vested interests.

“What Khan actually said on army chief & what @AajKamranKhan & PMLN trolls delib tried to misquote. Problem here is when anchor wants to assert his own view/agenda despite IK making his position clear on same issue. Such anchors shd do monologues instead! #IStandWithImranKhan”

“It is also possible that I will reveal the names of all those people,” he warned.Imran said he had always talked about for the betterment of the country. “I am standing with the institutions that are standing with the national interests”. He reiterated that no organisation can excel without merit and added that “the institution of army is strong because it follows merit”. On his much-hyped strategy to force the incumbent government to call early elections, Imran said he will give final call to the nation in this regard no later than September. “They [government] are baffled by my in-swinging yorker,” he said while using a cricket analogy.

“Imran Khan yesterday presented a practical formula for the political future of the country and the restoration of democracy, there is a need to proceed on that formula. The economic condition of the country will not be able to bear the burden of further political instability. The status quo of the establishment can be maintained for conducting elections.”

Imran said he was not in favour of delaying the early elections till March next year. “Whoever goes against the interest of Pakistan, I will stand against him. This ‘lame government’ is nothing without the establishment. I don’t want anyone to harm the country under the guise of the establishment,” he added.

He also called upon the judiciary to create a merit-based mechanism for the appointment of judges. Speaking about his controversial remarks involving military top brass, Imran said he did not understand why Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a statement as he only said that “army chief should be appointed on merit”. Asked if he has ties with the country’s establishment, Imran said that if the establishment talks in favor of Pakistan’s interests, then I like them because I, too, talk about strengthening Pakistan. Asked that there is a possibility that Nawaz Sharif may return soon, Imran said that he too was waiting for Nawaz to return. He noted that there would be such a welcome of Nawaz that had never been seen before.