Imran claims that Gen. Qamar was calling the shots, and NAB told him that it was the former COAS who asked them to block the cases.
Imran Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and a former prime minister, has acknowledged that Qamar Javed Bajwa, a former army chief, was in charge of the accountability effort during his time in office.
In Pakistan, there is a law of the jungle. At the helm of affairs are all the thieves. The first thing they did after taking office was to resolve the corruption cases brought against them. Speaking via video link at the Rule of Law Conference of attorneys, Imran stated that all of the thieves’ corruption cases were coming to a conclusion one by one.
Later, while Imran was speaking to a respected journalist, he stated: “Gen (retd) Qamar has shown to be worse than an enemy. He didn’t hurt me; in fact, I should be grateful to him for helping the PTI, but his policies hurt Pakistan, not myself.
According to him, Qamar misled me over the accountability drive. “I continued questioning him for three long years why the accountability drive was moving so slowly, but he kept telling me that these matters would be resolved shortly. After one and a half years, I finally saw NAB, who informed me that Qamar was the one who gave the order to stall the cases and choose a go-slow approach.
Imran added, “When I learned about the plan, I gave Qamar a deadline and let him know the financial toll of his misadventure.”
In retrospect, he claimed, extension was a horrible idea, and once in power, “I would remove this law.”
He clarified that his prior statement about neutral being animals was made in a different context and expressed their desire that the institution will stay impartial.
He claimed that although the cases against Shehbaz Sharif were clear-cut, the hearing at which charges were to be filed was continually postponed for one reason or another.
“These individuals first received immunity, or an NRO, from General (ret.) Pervez Musharraf, and then they granted themselves an NRO through the NAB amendment.”
He claimed that nowhere else in the world does this occur. “They got off easy thanks to an assembly amendment. In the Hudaibiya Paper Mills and Sara-e-Mehl cases, an NRO first gave Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari permission to remain at large.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid wants the assembly to continue, but the PTI leader Imran Khan made it clear that they “will stand by our decision of dissolving the assemblies come what may.” He added that those who believe the assemblies won’t be dissolved should wait until my rally on Saturday (today).
As there has been no progress in negotiations and without a date for elections, no conversation can begin, Imran remarked, “I will offer a date for the dissolution of assembly at the rally.”
He joked, “If assemblies are to be dissolved in February, then why haste, why not wait for August,” in response to rumours that the announcement of the dissolution date would be delayed until February.
Elections have to be held as soon as possible, he declared. When asked if the nation could afford to hold elections, he responded, “What other option do we have. This administration lacks a plan. The economy will only get worse if we wait longer.
He said that up to 10,000 extra votes were cast in their favour during the by-elections to boost the chances of the PDM candidates. He accused the ECP of supporting the PDM.
He claimed that the opposition created the false impression that the PTI government had soured relations with friendly and benevolent nations. He said that the PTI’s rule had resulted in perfect ties with all nations, including America. He said that his travels to Russia and America were evidence of this. He claimed that the Malaysia meeting temporarily strained but eventually normalised ties with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
He claimed that the former COAS was hell-bent on maintaining diplomatic ties with India. But he added, “I informed Qamar that following the change in the situation of Kashmir, we cannot normalise relations, since doing so would put the Kashmir cause on hold and would be comparable to dishonouring the sacrifices of Kashmiris.”
According to him, our foreign policy should be focused on what is best for the Pakistani people. There should be no compromising when creating the foreign policy.
If “Corona hadn’t complained to the entire world,” he claimed, they would have carried out their economic strategy. We had significantly stronger growth rates, remittances, large-scale industrial growth, and GDP than we do now notwithstanding COVID-19.
Imran said that after 70 years, “the only thing they have on me is selling my own watch.” “The Toshakhana gifts are either bought or sold at auction,” he stated. They were never intended for Pakistani citizens. He claimed that this situation was laughable in the extreme.
