Fazl’s ‘allies’ snub his claim on no-trust move

PML-N, PPP, MQM-P say ex-army chief opposed Imran’s ouster

ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI/ LAHORE:

Contrary to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s claim, his “allies” on Friday maintained that previous army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa was against bringing a vote of no-confidence motion against former premier Imran Khan in 2022.

PML-N leader Malik Ahmad Khan said contrary to what the JUI-F chief was claiming, Gen (retd) Bajwa opposed the idea of introducing a vote of no-confidence motion against PTI founding chairman Imran.

PPP’s Faisal Kareem Kundi also lashed out at the JUI-F chief for making these “disclosures” after enjoying a stint in power.

A day earlier, the Maulana accused the former army chief and ex-ISI director general Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed of orchestrating the downfall of the PTI government led by its founding chairman Imran in April 2022 by asking the then-opposition parties to initiate a vote of no-confidence motion against him under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Speaking to a private TV news channel, Fazl claimed he was opposed to the idea of tabling a no- trust motion against Imran but “sacrificed” his opinion for the sake of his friends in the alliance.

Addressing a news conference in Lahore, Ahmed maintained that the former army chief met with the then opposition parties on March 26, 2022 at the Punjab Judges House, a huddle where he was present as well, bringing them a message from Imran that there could be a crisis in the country if a no-trust resolution was moved.

However, he added that the JUI-F chief resisted the former army chief’s proposal and in fact he was perturbed over the delay in moving the no-confidence resolution.

Ahmed wondered if the JUI-F chief could bring one person forward to back his claim about his meeting with Gen (retd) Bajwa.

He added that JUI-F chief’s statement was contrary to the facts, and he should come up with evidence to show that he held a meeting with the former army chief and the ex-spymaster, where they asked him to introduce the no-trust motion.

He pointed out that at the time of the meeting, Lt Gen (retd) Faiz was not even the ISI DG and serving as a corps commander “somewhere”. Ahmed was correct as Lt Gen (retd) Faiz had been appointed the Peshawar corps commander at that time.

The PML-N leader said all PDM parties worked hard to make the vote of no-trust motion successful -- a feat that nobody else had pulled off in the country’s history before.

He continued that the PDM was of the view that the country would default if the economic situation and inflation continued as they were.

PPP’s Faisal Kareem Kundi, while addressing a news conference in Islamabad, claimed that the JUI-F chief was the biggest beneficiary of the no-trust motion himself, adding that he could have opted to stay out of the move being the head of the PDM.

He pointed out that now when the government formation was under way after the end of the polls, a major twist was seen on Thursday when a the JUI-F chief met with a PTI delegation despite a history of bad blood between them.

Kundi inquired that as the president of the PDM, on whose instructions had Fazl staged a sit-in in Islamabad and then why did suddenly call if off.

He maintained that after enjoying the perks of ministries during the coalition government’s 16 months in power, the JUI-F was protesting in Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after tasting defeat in the polls.

The MQM-P also dismissed the JUI-F chief’s claim about the no-trust motion being initiated at the behest of Gen (retd) Bajwa as “baseless”.

Addressing a news conference at the MQM-P’s temporary headquarters in Karachi, the party’s convener and former federal minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui questioned the motive behind such statements after the elections and expressed concern about their potential impact on democracy.

He clarified that the meeting in question took place on March 26 2022, where MQM was also invited and he represented the party.

Siddiqui continued that the JUI-F chief’s claims were completely different from the actual case and situation discussed during the huddle.

Disclosing details about the meeting, the MQM-P convener said Gen (retd) Bajwa had urged the then-opposition parties to withdraw the no-confidence motion and find a middle ground. According to Siddiqui, the political leaders present at the meeting discussed various aspects, including the country’s economy.