Pakistan: Imran Khan says former army chief Bajwa asked him to dissolve provincial assemblies

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and the country's former prime minister Imran Khan said that the former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had given him the advice to dissolve the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), The News.com reported.

In an interview held on Sunday, Khan said that he held a meeting with General Bajwa, in the presence of President Arif Alvi, where the former army chief suggested if he wanted elections then he needs to dissolve his governments in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), according to a report published by The News.com.

The deposed prime minister was ousted from his office following a no-confidence motion in April 2022. Khan said that he was informed by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) that Bajwa intended to bring Shehbaz Sharif into power.

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"General Bajwa and the (premier intelligence) agency knew that the current rulers had stolen the money from the national kitty and taken it abroad. Despite knowing this, General Bajwa was willing to give them 'NRO' as he had planned an extension (for himself)," said Khan.

In the interview, Khan stated that elections can take place in July if the incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decides to dissolve the National Assembly, which is the parliament's lower house.

"Elections can be held in July if the prime minister dissolves the assembly," stated the ousted premier.

He further emphasised that the caretaker government present in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), where PTI was in power before the two assemblies were dissolved by Khan on January 14 and 18, respectively, are illegal as their stipulated term has lapsed.

He stated that the caretaker government needs to be abolished and a new "neutral" interim government must be instated. He added that the country's Supreme Court has given the date of May 14 for the Punjab elections and his party won't allow the government to postpone elections beyond that.

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"If they think they (incumbent government) will pressurise the Supreme Court, we will not let it happen. They will scandalise the top court to run away from elections," Khan said.

Even as the government continues to cite security as a major issue for conducting elections, the lack of monetary funds for conducting polls has been communicated as the real reason behind the delay.

"There may be no money even in October. The situation may worsen. We cannot go beyond May 14,” Khan said. He added that people have been irked by the rising inflation and the government is afraid of their reaction and hence, is postponing the elections. "They are scared of elections," Khan said.

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