Pakistan: Imran Khan claims General Bajwa ‘made a deal’ with Asif Ali Zardari

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that former army chief (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa had “made a deal” with Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

Speaking to journalists in Lahore, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan said that during the past year, he found out that General (retired) Bajwa “does not want accountability.” He claimed that former chief of army staff (COAS) General Bajwa probably believed that PTI’s popularity would witness a decline, however, “that did not happen.”

In his remarks, Imran Khan said that the PTI-led government would have “cleaned up” the nation if a “right army chief was present.” Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan predicted that the elections will be held in March or April of the coming year. He said that their party is forming an alliance with Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) as they have supported PTI.

“I will not hurt people’s trust for the sake of power and will not make any compromise the hope of the people to come into the government,” The Express Tribune quoted Imran Khan as saying.

Imran Khan alleged that PPP and PML-N have no receipt of funding. He further said that the PTI has a database of 40,000 donors. Earlier this week, Khan had said that retired General Bajwa was “solely responsible” for Pakistan’s “prevailing political and economic crisis,” including his ouster in April.

Furthermore, he claimed that General Bajwa was controlling the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and he even gave NRO relief in corruption cases to incumbent rulers despite his opposition. Imran Khan said that General Bajwa did not oppose his anti-corruption drive. However, Khan added that Bajwa asked him to “focus on the economy and to move away from accountability.”

Earlier this month, Imran Khan accused the former army chief (retired) General Qamar Javed Bajwa of playing a “double game” with his government, The Nation reported citing a local TV channel.

Khan accepted that he committed a “big mistake” by extending the tenure of the then Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Bajwa in 2019, according to The Nation. He said that he had received reports from Intelligence Bureau (IB) on “what games were being played against his government.”

“Gen Bajwa was playing a double game and I discovered later that even PTI’s members were being given different messages,” The Nation quoted Imran Khan as saying in the interview.