ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday said former chief of army staff General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa had threatened to impose martial law in the country as he sought an extension in his term for the second time in November 2022.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) senior leader said this in response to a statement by Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmed Khan who told the media that Bajwa, who is his close friend, did not seek an extension.
A day earlier, the PA speaker, who also belongs to the PMLN, recalled his meeting with the former serviceman in the US Embassy where Bajwa denied rumours that he wanted an extension. He indicated that it was possible that some details might have slipped from Khawaja Asif’s mind.
Speaking on Geo News show Capital Talk, Asif said that he has a sound memory. “It is quite possible that I may not be able to see future. But I absolutely retain all past memories,” he stressed. “General Bajwa had said in a sitting that he would impose martial law in the country,” the defence minister asserted.
Asif said that he and Malik Ahmed are speaking about separate situations, adding that there is no difference between what both of them are saying. General (R) Bajwa, he remarked, had been demanding an extension of six months to one year “as part of a temporary arrangement” to defuse the deadlock.
Speaking on Geo News show Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath on Thursday, the Punjab Assembly speaker reiterated that Gen (R) Bajwa without mincing his words stated during his official US trip that he would not seek an extension in his term.
“I am an old soldier and an old soldier fades away,” Malik Ahmed recalled the quote of the former army chief, saying that Gen Bajwa on many occasions reiterated the same stance that he was not seeking an extension.
Moreover, he said Bajwa believed that General Sahir Shamshad Mirza and General Asim Munir should be appointed to the top posts of army chief and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Meanwhile, Asif in Thursday’s show also reiterated his claim that Bajwa brought Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan into power and it was he who was calling the shots, recalling that Khan would shower praise on the former army chief during official events.
The defence minister said that both Bajwa and General (R) Faiz Hamid have a close relationship, saying the former wanted the latter to succeed him as the army chief.
