Lahore: After months of allegations, former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has given a clean chit to the United States and instead held former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa responsible for the ‘conspiracy’ which resulted in his ouster via a no-confidence motion in April last year.
The PTI chairman made these remarks during an interview with the Voice of America and a separate televised address last week. On both occasions, the former premier took swipes at the ex-chief of army staff, who, according to Imran Khan, was the source of all the crises plaguing Pakistan today, Dawn reported.
“On my return from Russia (a year ago being premier), General Bajwa asked me to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. I told him that India, which is a strategic ally of the US, is staying neutral. So, Pakistan should stay neutral.”
— Former PM Imran Khan while talking to students and religious scholars
“Whatever happened, now as things unfold, it wasn’t the US who told Pakistan [to oust me]. It was unfortunately, from what evidence has come up, [former army chief] Gen [Qamar Javed] Bajwa who somehow managed to tell the Americans that I was anti-American. And so, it [the plan to oust me] wasn’t imported from there. It was exported from here to there,” Khan told VoA in a sharp U-turn from his previous position of blaming the US.
“If General (retd) Bajwa was the ‘super king’ at that time, what were you: his servant?”
— Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Maryam Nawaz to Imran Khan
In the televised address, Imran Khan termed Gen Bajwa, who retired in November last year, ‘super king’ and admitted that his three-and-a-half-year stint in the Prime Minister’s Office was more like of a puppet, Dawn reported.
“Gen Bajwa had become an expert of everything, including economy, politics, and foreign policy,” Khan alleged.
“Gen Bajwa used to get the credit for good decisions and Imran Khan used to serve as a punching bag for every wrong decision,” Khan claimed, alleging that the former army chief was responsible for the “political and economic ills” faced by the country today, Dawn reported.
