Early Today, Prime Minister Imran Khan has accused former PM Nawaz Sharif of playing a “dangerous game” by leveling allegations of political interference against the army and claimed that the former premier has India’s support, reports Dawn.
In an interview with journalist Nadeem Malik on Samaa TV on Thursday, Khan claimed that the relations between his government and the military are the “best in history” because all institutions are working in their relevant spheres.
“This is a dangerous game Nawaz is playing; Altaf Hussain played the same game,” PM Khan warned, adding that he was “100 percent” sure that India was helping the PML-N leader.
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“Whose interest is it that our army weakens? Our enemies,” he added, saying some “foolish liberals” were agreeing with Nawaz’s narrative. Khan then proceeded to highlight several Muslim countries that were in trouble, questioning why Pakistan is safe, after all.
“Entire Muslim world is ablaze”
“Look at Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen; the entire Muslim world is ablaze [so] why are we safe? If it weren’t for our army, our country would’ve been in three pieces. India’s think-tanks say that they want to break Pakistan.” PM Khan further added that Sharif was creating “huge fitna (mischief)” by attacking the army. “He (Nawaz) is becoming the next Altaf Hussain. He is a coward, I am sure he has support [from India],” he warned.
Khan reflected on the government allowing Sharif to leave, “I am so angry that he went abroad by lying shamelessly. All kinds of lies were told that he is about to die, [his] platelets are low, etc.” Answering a question about Sharif’s return to Pakistan, the PM said that his government was asking the British government to “send him back” and that there was a “plan in place”.
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“We allowed him to leave on humanitarian grounds and now that he is there he has started politics. We know he is meeting different people and is conspiring against the nation,” he added.
Live at SAMAA TV, Khan claimed that he was the “first person in the country’s history” who won elections from five constituencies and who was “not grown in any military nursery like Nawaz or Zulfikar Ali Bhutto”. He reiterated that he did not have any issues with the army and came to power after mobilizing the public and struggling on his own.
The Separation Of Powers
“Justice [Asif Saeed] Khosa during the Panama Papers case had said that all institutions in Pakistan were rotten and paralyzed,” he said. “Only one institution is intact which is the army and we take their assistance to fight COVID-19, locusts, etc. If I hadn’t sent the NDMA to clean nullahs [in Karachi], more water would have entered [buildings].”
The prime minister went on to say that the “military’s job is not to run the government. If a democratically elected government is performing poorly, it does not mean martial law should be imposed; it means the government should be improved”.
PM Khan compared the military to the judiciary and said that it has evolved. He added that “Contemporary civil-military relations are the best in history because they are all working in their spheres”. Khan further added that Pakistan’s history provided the lesson that the “military’s job is not to run the government. If a democratically elected government is performing poorly, it does not mean martial law should be imposed; it means the government should be improved.
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“If a judge gives a wrong decision it means the judiciary has to evolve. The army has evolved as well. Contemporary civil-military relations are the best in history because they are all working in their spheres.”
He said the army had stood by his decisions including those regarding relations with India, the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor, and the coronavirus pandemic. He added that Sharif was “never a democratic man” and entered politics through the army’s support. “Now he has become a super democrat,” he added, saying Sharif had problems with various former army chiefs and Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, whom he himself appointed.
Live on SAMAA News, PM Khan claimed Sharif had problems with the army because “they come to steal and our world-class agencies detect their theft”. He accused Sharif of having controlled the civil institutions, inclusive of the judiciary, throughout his tenure and had his workers attack the Supreme Court “when justice Sajjad Ali Shah could not be controlled”. “Only the army was not under his control. That is why he couldn’t get along [with them].”
Khan attacks Sharif’s morality
Referring to the claim reportedly made by former PM Sharif that ex-ISI chief Zaheerul Islam had called him to ask him to resign, PM Khan said: “You were the prime minister, [how] does he have the courage to say that to you?
If someone tells that to me, I will demand his resignation. I am the democratically elected prime minister; who can dare to tell me to step down?” Khan then proceeded to comment that in a democratic system, a person’s moral authority is really what counts, all the while claiming that Sharif himself has no moral authority. “When he had a two-thirds majority, he tried to become Ameerul Momineen. Why don’t I want to become the same?”
Khan further commented that in security matters, the army has the biggest say in any country in the world. “India has become a security issue,” he added. “We know India sponsors terrorism in Pakistan but since we were aiming to bring peace because we wanted to lift our economy, the army stood by me.”
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Answering a question regarding a meeting held between prominent opposition leaders and the army chief, PM Khan said, “There was a purpose behind [the meeting],” he said. “India is active in GB; it is also part of the CPEC route and the region is in limbo. The people there want rights and India is exploiting that.
It was important that the army explained to them what security issues are coming up. Whenever there is a security matter, I prefer the army to explain because they have institutional memory.” Khan foretold that India wanted to create disturbance in the country by creating a Shia-Sunni conflict. “We knew for three months, they were aiming for the assassination of Shia and Sunni scholars. Thank God our agencies caught that and a terrorist group was busted in Punjab,” he revealed.
GVS News Desk