Proposal of army chief's extension is subject to snap polls: Imran

PTI chief says he will give final call to the nation no later than September

ISLAMABAD:

Former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan has clarified that he did not talk about giving extension to the army chief but suggested deferring the new appointment till after the next general elections.

He said this on Tuesday while speaking to the journalists in Islamabad, a day after indirectly hinting at granting another extension to the incumbent COAS, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, albeit for a short period.

“I have stated that the position of the army chief is very important. The appointment has to be done on merit. I will repeat time and again that it should be done on merit,” Imran has said during an interview with private TV channel while building his case for the new army chief’s appointment after the elections.

He had said neither Asif Ali Zardari nor Nawaz Sharif fulfilled the criteria of merit to appoint the new army chief, adding they both lacked the moral ground to be part of such an important decision-making process.

Also read: Govt rejects Imran’s proposal regarding COAS extension

“One is an absconder and convicted; his wealth is stashed abroad; he is imposed on us through a foreign conspiracy,” he had said.

In today’s conversation with journalists, Imran said that his proposal for the extension of the army chief's tenure is “subject to the announcement of the early elections”. “The appointment of the army chief should be delayed until the election of a new government,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, the PTI chief said that 'a few individuals have put the national security at stake for their own vested interests. “It is also possible that I will reveal the names of all those people,” he warned.

Imran said he had always talked about for the betterment of the country. “I am standing with the institutions that are standing with the national interests”.

He reiterated that no organisation can excel without merit and added that “the institution of army is strong because it follows merit”.

‘Final call’

On his much-hyped strategy to force the incumbent government to call early elections, Imran said he will give final call to the nation in this regard no later than September.

Also read: Imran amenable to COAS extension

“They [government] are baffled by my in-swinging yorker,” he said while using a cricket analogy.

Imran said he was not in favour of delaying the early elections till March next year. “Whoever goes against the interest of Pakistan, I will stand against him. This ‘lame government’ is nothing without the establishment. I don't want anyone to harm the country under the guise of the establishment,” he added.

He also called upon the judiciary to create a merit-based mechanism for the appointment of judges.

Speaking about his controversial remarks involving military top brass, Imran said he did not understand why Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a statement as he only said that “army chief should be appointed on merit”.

The PTI ‘s chief statement had triggered a strong reaction from the army when he recently accused both the Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz of seeking the appointment of an army chief of their choice in a bid to save their skin from corruption cases.