ISLAMABAD: A senior Pakistani cabinet minister said on Saturday Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif would hold consultations with the founding leader of his political party, Nawaz Sharif, while visiting London before finalizing the name of the new army chief.
The issue has come up for discussion in the media after former prime minister Imran Khan made statements in which he said the current administration of the country should not be allowed to decide the matter which should be postponed until after the formation of a new government.
Khan, who was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in April after losing parliamentary majority, has been demanding early elections in Pakistan since he claims his administration was brought down by international powers who did not want him to pursue and independent foreign policy.
The former prime minister has also refused to recognize the incumbent government, saying its leaders were involved in financial irregularities and wanted to appoint their “favorite” army chief to protect themselves against the corruption cases.
“The decision to appoint the army chief rests with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,” said Khurram Dastgir, Pakistan’s power minister, while addressing a news conference in Gujranwala. “He will make the final judgment on this. He will also consult his political companions and Nawaz Sharif, though it will be him who will take the decision.”
The country’s current army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, is due to retire in the last week of November.
Khan’s political party recently said it would be “insulting” if the top army general was appointed by people facing corruption charges or running away from the country’s legal system.
Nawaz Sharif, an ex-premier who ruled the country three times, was convicted by an accountability court before he went to London on medical bail and did not return. The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party calls cases against him politically motivated.
The issue of the army chief’s appointment was also raised during a news conference of defense minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif in Islamabad on Saturday who was asked about the government’s “policy” on the issue.
“The policy is already defined in the constitution that the sitting prime minister will decide the matter in November,” he said.
“Nawaz Sharif has fulfilled this constitutional responsibility four times,” he continued. “Now, this duty will be performed by Shehbaz Sharif.”
Dismissing Khan’s demand that the decision be postponed until after the fresh elections, Asif said it was a constitutional requirement that needed to be carried out on time.
Pakistan PM to appoint new army chief after consultation with Nawaz Sharif — minister
https://arab.news/8tamx
Pakistan PM to appoint new army chief after consultation with Nawaz Sharif — minister
- Khurram Dastgir says the decision to appoint the army chief solely rested with the PM who would consult his advisers
- Defense minister Khawaja Asif calls army chief’s appointment a constitutional duty that must be fulfilled on time
Pakistan’s Sindh orders inquiry after clashes at Imran Khan party rally in Karachi
- Khan’s PTI party accuses police of shelling to disperse its protesters, placing hurdles to hinder rally in Karachi
- Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah vows all those found guilty in the inquiry will be punished
ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province has ordered an inquiry into clashes that took place between police and supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in Karachi on Sunday, as it held a rally to demand his release from prison.
The provincial government had granted PTI permission to hold a public gathering at Karachi’s Bagh-i-Jinnah Park and had also welcomed Sohail Afridi, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where Khan’s party is in power, when he arrived in the city last week. However, the PTI cited a delay in receiving a permit and announced a last-minute change to a gate of Mazar-i-Quaid, the mausoleum of the nation’s founder.
Despite the change, PTI supporters congregated at the originally advertised venue. PTI officials claimed the party faced obstacles in reaching the venue and that its supporters were met with police intervention. Footage of police officers arresting Khan supporters in Karachi were shared widely on social media platforms.
“A complete inquiry is being held and whoever is found guilty in this, he will be punished,” Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said while speaking to a local news channel on Sunday.
Shah said the PTI had sought permission to hold its rally at Bagh-i-Jinnah in Karachi from the Sindh government, even though the venue’s administration falls under the federal government’s jurisdiction.
He said problems arose when the no objection certificate to hold the rally was delayed for a few hours and the party announced it would hold the rally “on the road.”
The rally took place amid rising tensions between the PTI and Pakistan’s military and government. Khan, who remains in jail on a slew of charges he says are politically motivated since August 2023, blames the military and the government for colluding to keep him away from power by rigging the 2024 general election and implicating him in false cases. Both deny his allegations.
Since Khan was ousted in a parliamentary vote in April 2022, the PTI has complained of a widespread state crackdown, while Khan and his senior party colleagues have been embroiled in dozens of legal cases.
