Bajwa wants to respond to Khan but can’t: Journalist Ansar Abbasi

Former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa cannot respond in public to the claims and accusations made against him by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan because of “codal limitations”, writes journalist Ansar Abbasi for Jang.

The journalist revealed on Monday that it was not General (retd) Bajwa, but Imran Khan who controlled National Accountability Bureau (NAB) when he was the prime minister as he was paranoid about the Opposition and wanted to see them behind bars.

Khan himself asked the ex-COAS to get a number of his opponents arrested. When Bajwa asked how he could take such a step, Khan gave reference of General Pervez Musharraf and his way of dealing with his political opponents. Upon hearing this, Bajwa reportedly reminded Imran that Musharraf was a dictator. Ansar Abbasi also disclosed that Bajwa told Khan to give him these orders in writing. However, Khan did not do that.

The former army chief also warned Khan, advising him instead to focus on the economy instead of the Opposition.

Abbasi has also written that “During his government’s tenure, Imran Khan himself has been heard complaining about the fear of NAB and its negative impact on the economy and civilian bureaucracy. But his urge to fix the opposition did not let him reform NAB.”

Abbasi however does admit that General (retd) Bajwa is mostly blamed for keenly pursuing what is generally referred to as the “Imran Khan project”.

He writes that when General (retd) Bajwa will speak, “what he tells will be no different from what former DG FIA Bashir Memon had alleged.” Memon claimed to have been pressurised by Khan to arrest his opponents.

It is pertinent to mention that since his ouster, Khan has blamed the establishment and criticised them for being “neutral”. However, after General Bajwa retired in November, Khan has taken to criticising him directly. He has taken the name of General (retd) Bajwa on several occasions, saying that the retired army chief is responsible for ousting him.

Days before retirement, General Bajwa, without taking any name, responded to Khan’s allegations.

In what seemed like a criticism of Imran Khan, General (retd) Bajwa said that a false narrative was built and a campaign was started against the Pakistan army.

“Many sectors used very inappropriate and undignified language while making the army the target of severe criticism. To criticise the army is the right of political parties and the people, but they should select their language carefully,” he said.