ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Monday denied the statements of Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi and his son, which suggested former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa had asked them to support ex-prime minister Imran Khan in the face of a no-trust vote in parliament earlier this year.

Khan, who was ousted in the no-confidence vote in April, accuses General (retired) Bajwa of having a part in his ouster and engaging in “double games.” The former premier in an interview last week regretted giving three-year extension to the former army chief.

But Elahi, who is an ally of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in the Punjab province, and his son, Moonis, have said that Bajwa showed them “the way” to support Khan.

However, Sanaullah in an interview to a Pakistani news channel denied the statements of the Punjab chief minister and his son.

“No they are stating this wrong. I am not a supporter of Gen Bajwa... but both these father and son are lying that Gen Bajwa asked them to join the PTI,” Sanaullah told Pakistan’s Geo News channel.

“During this entire period, they (Bajwa) neither asked anyone to support nor told anyone to oppose [the then government].”

Pakistan’s powerful army, which has ruled the country for nearly half of its 75-year history and is often accused of engineering ascent of political leaders to power, has lately been under attack, particularly by Khan and his supporters since the ouster of the former premier.

Bajwa, who retired on November 27 after completing his second three-year term, last month said that the Pakistani military had decided in February last year that it would no longer have any role in national politics.

About Khan’s assertion to dissolve provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sanaullah said the government had decided to hold elections on provincial assembly seats in case Khan and his allies dissolve the provincial legislatures.

He once again asked Khan to sit with political leadership if he wanted a date for the next general election.

Since his ouster, Khan has been campaigning against the government of PM Shehbaz Sharif in a bid to force it into announcing snap polls.

The former premier, who says his ouster was part of a United States-backed foreign conspiracy, has held several rallies and twice attempted to march on the capital.

But the government seems unfazed and says the general election will be held in the second half of 2023 as scheduled.