ISLAMABAD – Ousted Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan has said that Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa should be given extension till next elections.
The appointment of the next army chief should be postponed until the new government is elected, Khan told a news channel during an interview telecast on Monday.
Khan has been making headlines recently due to his remarks about appointment of the new army chief. Addressing a public rally in Faisalabad earlier this month, the PTI chairman had said the government was delaying elections to appoint an army chief of its own.
Also on Monday, Khan said he was ready to hold talks with the coalition government on snap polls.
Regarding the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) decision to indict him in a contempt of court case on September 22, Khan said if the five-member bench hearing the case would have allowed him to say something, he would have apologised. “I could have said what they wanted if they had allowed me to speak,” he said.
Taking a jibe at the coalition government’s performance, Khan said the country will be stuck in a quagmire if the incumbent rulers prolonged their stay.
“The economy is shrinking while unemployment is rising,” Khan maintained, adding that such a record high inflation — which clocked in at 27.3% in August — was “never seen before in the history of Pakistan”. He said the government will “further raise the electricity prices” as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked the coalition government to increase power tariffs.
Commenting on the state of economy, Khan said it was plunging at a high speed and it was the “next challenge” for Pakistan to deal with this situation.
Khan also commented on the coalition government’s deal with the IMF and criticised its performance following increasing inflation in the country. “[They] signed the IMF programme and increased the cost of petrol and electricity,” Khan said, adding the rupee value continues to decline.
“Given where they are going, I’m afraid the government has no solution,” he remarked as he emphasised how stability in the country was only possible through elections.
He stated that the country is already facing floods and it would be devastating if it defaults. “I already said that no one would be able to handle the economy if political instability continued. I had warned those who possessed power,” the former premier said, adding that he also sent former finance minister Shaukat Tarin to explain the matter to the establishment.
The former prime minister said that Pakistan does not have an easy option, “whichever party comes into power will have to face a mountain of problems.”
Shedding light on PTI’s strategy, Khan said that whenever his party will come back in power their first step will be to ensure political stability. “If there is no political stability there can be no economic stability,” he said, adding that the situation would spiral out of control if the country continues to move on its current path.
A day after news reports suggested the PTI chief met former US diplomat Robin Raphel at his Bani Gala residence, Khan said he was not anti-America. “I’ve known Robin Rafael for a long time. She is not associated with the government, but is working with a think tank,” he said.
Khan stressed good relations with the US but warned against it being used for personal interests. “We should not be used like we were used during the War on Terror,” he remarked.
The PTI chief added that his party’s relationship with the US was not tense, but tensions arose after Khan visited Russia and Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine. “I didn’t know,” he stated, adding that the US was upset following its tensions with Russia.
