Pakistan Army Distances from Imran Khan’s US Conspiracy Claim
By Ismail Dilawar

 

Pakistan’s powerful military does not see a US “conspiracy” behind the regime change in the country, its spokesman said, after claims by former Prime Minister Imran Khan that Biden administration orchestrated his ouster.

Khan has repeatedly blamed interference from the US, citing a letter from nation’s ex-envoy to Washington, that led to his removal from power last week in a no-confidence vote in parliament. Khan had said the National Security Committee, which includes the country’s top civil and military leadership, had endorsed his viewpoint in a statement.

- “You can clearly see if the word conspiracy has been mentioned in that statement. I don’t think so,” said Major General Babar Iftikhar at a news conference on Thursday. “There are minutes of that meeting and the government can declassify those minutes.”

The clarity comes after questions had been raised whether Khan’s claim was endorsed by the army - a strong institution that has ruled the country directly for almost half of its history and has major influence in its foreign and security policies when not in power. Khan is widely seen as having won the 2018 elections with the backing of the army but relations between them turned sour lately over appointments in the institution.

The U.S has denied claims by Khan.

Iftikhar also denied another claim by Khan that days before his ouster, the army had offered options to end the political deadlock.

The ex-premier Khan’s office requested army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa “to talk to the opposition about an offer from him to call early elections,” the military spokesman said. “The opposition rejected the offer and decided to go ahead with the no-confidence vote.”

The former cricket star Khan was finally removed last weekend in a no-confidence vote in parliament, which elected opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif as the new prime minister.

Iftikhar said army’s chief Bajwa is neither seeking an extension in his term nor he will accept any. He said the army has stayed away from politics for the past two years and it will continue to do so. - Bloomberg