Don’t ‘drag’ army into politics, army chief to retire in November — Pakistan military

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar said on Thursday the army should not be dragged into politics, after weeks of political turmoil in Pakistan that saw the ouster of one prime minister and the election of a new one.
Shehbaz Sharif, 70, took the oath of office this Monday following the dismissal of Imran Khan in Pakistan’s first no-confidence vote since gaining independence from Britain in 1947.
In the weeks leading up to his removal, Khan has said the campaign by opposition parties to oust him was orchestrated by the United States. Khan and his supporters have variously expressed disappointment that the military and army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa did not support him against the alleged foreign plot.
In the days since Khan was ousted, anti- army and judiciary hashtags have remained top trends on social media platforms.
Pakistan has been ruled by the military for about half its history and tensions between governments and top generals often dominate politics.
“The army has nothing to do with the political process that took place a few days back in the country,” Iftikhar told reporters, referring to the no-trust vote on Sunday. “Do not drag the army into political matters.”
When questioned about the army’s stance on Khan’s claim of a foreign conspiracy to oust him and whether the military leadership had endorsed that claim at an National Security Committee (NSC) held last month, Iftikhar said:
“As far as military response about the NSC meeting is considered, that stance, in that [NSC] meeting, was fully given, and then a statement was issued, which clearly says what was concluded in that meeting.”
“Is there any word such as conspiracy used in it [statement], I think not.”
Answering questions about whether the army chief would seek a second extension, Iftikhar said: “Let me put this to rest: COAS [Chief of Army Staff] is neither seeking an extension, nor will he accept an extension. He will be retiring on time on November 29 [this year].”
Bajwa was handed a three-year extension In August 2019.
Any effort by a military chief to consolidate power is widely viewed with suspicion by many in Pakistan’s political classes, who are wary of the army extending its influence further into the civilian domain.