ISLAMABAD – PTI Chairman Imran Khan has claimed that former Pakistan ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani was hired by former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa for his image building in the US during his government, but he being the PM was unaware of this hiring.
In an interview with a private news channel, the former premier said Haqqani, who was the main character in the 2012 “memogate” scandal, was hired in September 2021, adding: “There was PTI government at that time but it was not aware of his [Haqqani] appointment,” he said.
Khan said when a plan for regime change was being hatched, he and the then finance minister Shaukat Tarin had tried to convince Gen Bajwa that economy situation could deteriorate if the setup is changed.
“At that time we were assured of continuity in system but we were being stabbed in the back,” the former premier claimed, adding that he had the messages of the former army chief.
The PTI chief said inflation had surged to a record level, with ongoing freefall of the Pakistani rupee against the dollar.
“Only one person is responsible for the destruction of economy. The dollar was at Rs178 during the PTI government and now it has surged to the historic level,” he said.
He said investors were reluctant to carry on their business in the country as Pakistan’s default risk has increased to 100 percent, which was only 5% during the PTI government.
Khan said impression was created that he wanted to appoint Lt Gen Faiz Hameed as next army chief. “This is totally wrong and I didn’t even have any idea of it,” he said.
Imran slams Gen (r) Bajwa for striking deal with Asif Zardari, Sindh CM
