ISLAMABAD, May 24 (IANS) Months before Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir informed the head of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan about the activities of his wife Bushra Bibi and her close friend Farah Khan, the ex. A media report said Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa handed over a dossier to Khan on the alleged corrupt practices of former Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Ahsan Gujjar.
Citing sources, The News said in the report that the former PM has chosen to remain silent rather than take action against the accused PM and Gujjar, who happens to be Farah Khan’s husband.
The sources said that when General Bajwa shared the evidence with Khan, he said that not only was Buzdar incompetent, but that he and his family – along with Gujjar – were involved in corruption.
General Bajwa asked Imran Khan not to ask where the corruption money ended up.
The source quoted the former army chief as saying to the head of PTI, “Please don’t ask me more because you will be embarrassed” – in an indirect reference to two women.
The News reported that Imran Khan did not inquire further.
When General Monir, as ISI DG, decided to share his information with Imran Khan, he consulted General Bajwa first.
Initially, it is decided that both of them will hold a meeting with Imran Khan to share the evidence with him and ask him to keep his family away from a real estate magnate.
However, with General Bajwa absent for a visit, he told General Asim Khan the details in the former’s absence.
According to reports, Imran Khan was furious, and on the return of General Bajwa, he complained to him.
The former prime minister was determined to remove General Asim from office at any cost.
Later, General Munir was removed from his post after only eight months of his appointment as Director General of the ISI. There wasn’t even a working day’s wait to advertise; The News reported that it was Sunday when General Asim’s transfer was reported.
Rather than tidying up his house, Imran Khan was also adamant about the army’s role in arresting his political opponents, and is said to often refer to the example of the late President Pervez Musharraf.
General Asim was also not receptive to Imran Khan’s request either. Instead, he recommended a working relationship with political opponents for the smoother functioning of government.
However, curbing dissent was Imran Khan’s main concern. His wishes were only fulfilled when Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed was appointed Director General of the ISI; The arrests of the leaders of the PML-N and the PPP began around that time.
Meanwhile, PTI chief managed to get a clean letter to his ministers (Shaukat Tareen and Pervez Khattak) and principal secretary (Azam Khan) from NAB through Lt. Gen. Faiz, The News reports.
Imran Khan’s grip on the accountability apparatus has eroded again after Lieutenant General Faiz’s exit from the ISI.
The former prime minister tried to persuade Let-Gen Faiza’s successor, the current ISI DG Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum.
In the interview Imran Khan gave three lieutenants to select the new head of the ISI, he asked what they thought was the biggest problem in Pakistan.
On his part, Lt. Gen. Anjum is said to have ranked the economy as the biggest problem.
Corrected by Imran Khan. In his view, the opposition was the biggest issue for Pakistan – and it must be dealt with firmly.
– Jans
san /ksk/
