Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has hit out at ex-Pakistan army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa once again. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief claimed Bajwa asked him to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine soon after he returned from Moscow, Geo News reported.
Khan, who was ousted after an overnight vote of confidence in April last year, claimed he had spoken to Russian president Vladimir Putin regarding procurement of oil at cheaper rate. But when he returned to Pakistan, Bajwa asked him to decry Russian invasion in Ukraine.
In a video address, the former premier claimed when he advised the then army chief to stay ‘neutral’ like India, but Bajwa started condemning Russia. Continuing his attack on the United States, Khan claimed a top civil servant issued a foreign policy statement to ‘please’ US.
Ever since his removal from office following the vote of confidence, Imran Khan has been critical of the Pakistan Army, with whom he once had cordial relations. In an interview to Voice of America Urdu, the 70-year-old politician demanded an internal military inquiry against Bajwa for his alleged ‘admission’ on involvement in his ouster.
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Khan has referred to Bajwa’s remarks wherein he said it was his crime to not step in to save the PTI chief’s government. He even lashed out at Bajwa, accusing him of ‘favouring some of the biggest crooks in the country’.
Imran Khan claimed Bajwa had a close relationship with incumbent prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, and conspired for a regime change in Pakistan.
Recently, Khan had claimed that Bajwa’s behaviour changed after he was granted an extension as army chief in 2019. The former cricket captain claimed that the military commander compromised with the Sharifs and granted them the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), the News International reported.
He claimed that Bajwa hired Hussain Haqqani as the then Pakistan ambassador to the United States, who according to Khan allegedly lobbied against his government with Washington DC and promoted Bajwa.
Imran Khan had blamed United States for his removal as the prime minister of Pakistan, naming a US diplomat named Donald Blu as the one involved in the alleged conspiracy to overthrow his government.
