ISLAMABAD: The Shehbaz Sharif government is uneasy with Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s recent statements attacking former army chief General (R) Qamar Javed Bajwa.
A key federal minister, on condition of not being named, told The News what the defence minister has said is neither the policy of Shehbaz government nor that of PMLN.
He said the government’s present focus is former DG ISI Gen (R) Faiz Hameed, who has been arrested by the military authorities. He added that there was no government policy to attack Gen (R) Bajwa when everybody was zeroing in on what Gen (R) Faiz has done and how he has been hobnobbing with the PTI leadership in violation of the Army Act.
The minister, however, denied media reports about Nawaz Sharif’s “direction” to his party leaders to avoid discussing Lt Gen (R) Faiz. He said that Nawaz Sharif did not pass any such direction.
Another PMLN source, holding an important position, said that Khawaja Asif may not now speak about Gen (R) Bajwa. When asked if Khawaja Asif has been stopped from doing so by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif or PMLN President Nawaz Sharif, the source said he has no information about it but he believes the defence minister has been requested to keep quiet.
Khawaja Asif appeared in a series of TV talk shows during the last few days in which he alleged that Gen (R) 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.
Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmed Khan, however, contradicted him and insisted that Bajwa did not seek an extension. The PA speaker indicated that it was possible that some details might have slipped from Khawaja Asif’s mind.
Later, in a talk show, Khawaja Asif said that he has a sound memory. “It is quite possible that I may not be able to see the future. But I absolutely retain all past memories,” he stressed. “General (R) Bajwa had said in a sitting that he would impose martial law in the country,” the defence minister asserted. Following Khawaja Asif’s statement, Malik Ahmed Khan in a talk show again insisted that Gen Bajwa on many occasions had reiterated the same stance that he was not seeking an extension.
