Pakistan: Former army chief Bajwa orchestrated no-confidence vote against Imran, says JUI-F

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) (JUI-F) said on Thursday (Feb 15) that former Pakistan Army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa orchestrated a no-confidence vote against Imran Khan and his government. In an interview with Samaa TV, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that Bajwa and Lt General (retd) Faiz Hameed, the former chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), guided all political parties over the no-confidence vote against Khan in April 2022.

"The PPP (Pakistan Peoples Party) was moving the no-confidence motion against the PTI. Gen Bajwa and Faiz Hameed were in touch with us at the time of the no-confidence motion," Rehman said.

"Gen Bajwa, Faiz Hameed asked all parties to do this (bringing the no-confidence motion)," he added. The JUI-F chief also said that he was not in favour of the move, adding, "Just for my friends, I sacrificed my opinion.”

Rehman claimed that then-ISI chief Hameed came to him, asking to go ahead with the motion. Rehman said he refused the proposal but changed his stance after various other political parties approached him for joint action.

"If I had refused it again, they would say I am saving Imran,” he told Samaa TV.

For the first time in its history, Pakistan saw the ouster of a prime minister (in this case Imran Khan) through a no-confidence vote. Khan had claimed a US-led conspiracy was behind his ouster as PM. He never provided any evidence to back this claim, and Islamabad and Washington denied the charges.

A confession that has vindicated Imran Khan's stance.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who was President of the PDM, has confessed that it was then Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa who asked them to remove Imran Khan in a no confidence motion. "It was General Bajwa who told everyone… pic.twitter.com/2K9OYdqbqH — PTI USA Official (@PTIOfficialUSA) February 15, 2024

The JUI-F has termed the Feb 8 general elections as rigged and has refused to support the coalition government.

Reacting to Rehman's remarks on Thursday, the PTI said that there was a conspiracy to oust Khan. In a post on X, the PTI said on Thursday, "Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who was President of the PDM, has confessed that it was then Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa who asked them to remove Imran Khan in a no-confidence motion."

"The cipher revealed that there was a conspiracy, and it's now clear that the main architect was then Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa," the post added.

(With inputs from agencies)