In a statement released on Monday, President Dr. Arif Alvi refuted a report in which he was cited as saying that general (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa had backed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the Senate and during the 2018 general election. He referred to the piece as self-concocted and irrelevant.
President Alvi has taken note of the statements about the previous Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa, that have been erroneously attributed to him by his team and that claim that he has supported the PTI. The statement said, “The said statement has been quoted out of context and is self-made and fabricated.”
In an earlier report, President Dr. Arif Alvi was quoted as saying that retired Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa had aided PTI Chairman Imran Khan in both the election and the Senate. According to sources, the president indicated that if the army had opted to remain out of politics, it was time for politicians to take control of the situation and create a condition where they weren’t dependent on the army in a talk with journalists and representatives of the business sector.
In response to a query, the president stated that the relationship between the PTI leader and retired Gen Bajwa probably worsened in October 2021 and then again in April or May of this year.
However, Mr. Alvi emphasised that the nation was going through a difficult time and he pleaded with all parties to let go of the past and extend forgiveness to those who had wronged them in the past in order to start over. The president further disclosed that he had verbally proposed to both the opposition and the government that a compromise might be reached, and elections might take place around the end of April or in May, however the precise timing of the subsequent polls was uncertain.
The president was also reportedly questioned about whether Imran had ever considered firing the former army leader, to which he reportedly said, “No, I don’t think so. That was untrue.”
According to the report, Dr. Alvi claimed that he had also orally urged that a compromise be reached and elections be scheduled at the end of April or in May to both the administration and the opposition.
It is important to note that Bajwa and the military were charged with aiding the PTI in both obtaining power and managing its affairs. Ayaz Sadiq, the minister of economic affairs, invited Bajwa to discuss his “part” in “ensuring” the PTI’s win in the 2018 general election on Sunday.
