Abbasi calls upon Imran to end circus of his personal interests

Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi called upon Chairman PTI Imran Khan to draw the curtain on the circus of his personal interests.  He said the PTI chief's entire political game revolves around who will be the next army chief.

Responding to Imran Khan's suggestion to delay the appointment of the next Army Chief, the PML-N leader said in a statement that Imran Khan should stop the circus of his own personal interests on the matter.

Abbasi questioned if Imran Khan had read the Pakistani constitution. He said it is the Prime Minister's authority to nominate the Army Chief. Imran Khan exercised the same power in August 2019 four months prior to the Army Chief's appointment, he claimed.

In an exclusive interview with a private news channel on Monday, Imran Khan suggested deferring the appointment of the new army chief until the country has a newly formed government. Per Imran Khan, the upcoming government should appoint the leader of the Pakistan Army.

"Is Imran Khan, with his statement, saying that there is no lieutenant general eligible to lead the Pakistani army?" asked Abbasi.

Don't appoint new army chief until elections: Imran

On September 12, Imran Khan proposed to extend the tenure of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa till the next elections.

Khan said that the appointment of an army chief should be deferred until the government is elected, which should then choose the new military head.

Khan has been making headlines since his ouster in April this year because of his constant remarks regarding the army chief.

Earlier this month, while speaking during a public rally in Faisalabad, the PTI chairman had called out the government, saying that it was delaying the elections to appoint an army chief of its own and that if a "patriotic chief of army staff comes in, he will not spare the incumbent rulers."