ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday asked President Arif Alvi to order an “immediate inquiry” against ex-army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, for allegedly violating the oath of his office repeatedly as well as the country’s constitution.
Ever since his ouster from power in April last year through a no-trust vote, Khan has been at loggerheads with the ex-army chief, arguably the most powerful post in the country. Khan blames Pakistan’s powerful military establishment for not saving his government.
After months of blaming the US for triggering a regime change in Pakistan, Khan said this week that only Bajwa was responsible for his removal. The cricketer-turned-politician said that in light of the “evidence” he has come across recently, the former army chief— whom he referred to as a “super king“--somehow managed to convince Washington that Khan was anti-US
In a letter written to President Alvi dated February 14, Khan included a list of reasons in his attempt to prove how Bajwa repeatedly violated the constitution and demanded urgent action against him.
“Some very disturbing information has now come into the public domain whereby it is clear that Gen retd Bajwa as COAS violated his oath of [the] office repeatedly,” Khan wrote in the letter, a copy of which was posted on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s official Twitter account on Thursday.
Khan explained in the letter that in conversation with a journalist, Bajwa had admitted that Khan was “dangerous to the country if he continued to stay in power”, adding that assuming the right to decide such a thing was a violation of his oath as given in Third Schedule Article 244 of the Constitution.
“Regardless of the merits of his claims in this case, he has also admitted he managed to get the NAB [National Accountability Bureau] case against Shaukat Tarin dismissed revealing that NAB was under his control — again a clear violation of the Constitutional oath because the army itself is a department under the Ministry of Defense and civilian official autonomous institutions do not come [under] military control,” the letter added.
Khan also claimed that Bajwa told a journalist that he was in possession of audio tapes that featured conversations between the former army chief and Khan. He said it was again a violation of his oath and fundamental human rights.
Towards the end of the letter, Khan also pointed out that Bajwa went against the government’s policy of “maintaining neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine War”.
“I would also point out that Chapter II of the Constitution describes the mandate of the Armed Forces and specifically refers to Articles 243 and 244. Therefore, it is your Constitutional duty as President and as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces to take immediate action and institute an inquiry so as to establish whether such grave violations of the Constitution and oath of Office under the Constitution have taken place,” the letter said.
Commenting on Khan’s move, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said during a press conference that “these people piggybacked off the establishment’s shoulders” to be imposed on the nation.
“What are they doing to the establishment now? What kind of things is [Khan] saying about General Bajwa? And now they are also targeting the judiciary,” he said.
