ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday his relationship with the military was “exemplary”, but he hadn’t thought about giving another extension to the army chief.
Speaking to an interviewer, Khan said the issue of army chief’s tenure would be decided in November 2022. He said the next three months would be very important for the PTI government. He said the government needed to control inflation in the next three months. He was of the view that together with the allies, the incumbent government would complete its five-year tenure.
Speaking about the recently-held local bodies elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the premier said the “PTI has suffered because of the defeat in the polls”.
He was of the view that the defeat of the PTI was a major failure at the organisational level; but he reiterated that the party’s vote bank had not decreased.
Highlighting the flaws of his government, he said that a lack of accountability was the biggest failure of his government. He said that opposition leaders were managing to escape accountability despite all the evidence against them.
If the opposition parties plan to bring a motion of no confidence against the government, he said, “they can do so”. He however said he did not feel threatened by the corrupt parties.
Earlier on Thursday, the premier chaired a meeting on the Ravi Urban Development and Central Business District projects where he emphasised the need for urban development.
“Urban development is the top priority of our government,” he said, directing the relevant authorities to expedite work on the projects.
During the meeting, he said that unused government land was being turned into valuable assets.
A day earlier, ISPR DG Babar Iftikhar rejected as “baseless” the speculations about another extension to Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Wednesday, the ISPR chief said it was not appropriate to talk about the COAS’ term at this time.
Gen Bajwa’s second tenure will end on November 29, 2022.
