FILE - Imran Khan, right, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, and Defense Minister Pervez Khattaq
Highlights
- Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan lost a crucial trust vote in the National Assembly past midnight
- Khan became the first premier in the country’s history to be removed through a no-confidence motion
- Khan, 69, was not present in the lower house at the time of voting
Amid the ousting of Imran Khan as Pakistan's prime minister, various media reports have suggested Khan made a botched attempt to replace Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Imran Khan made such attempts in order to bring someone more pliant and sympathetic to his idea of “foreign conspiracy” and cling on to power, the reports stated.
Just as the turmoil surrounding the Pakistan politics intensifies, details show the country may have averted a damning showdown between Imran Khan and the army.
According to a report with the BBC Urdu, a helicopter carrying “two uninvited guests” landed in the prime minister’s house at night and the two guests were escorted by army soldiers to the interior of the palatial building. The two met Imran Khan alone for 45 minutes.
No details were officially provided about the meeting but it was not held in a cordial atmosphere, the report said.
“The Prime Minister had issued orders an hour ago to remove one of the high officials who came to meet him. So the uninvited arrival of these guests was unexpected for the Prime Minister. Imran Khan was waiting for a helicopter but those arriving on the helicopter were against his estimate and expectations,” according to the report.
It further said that Khan was expecting that the helicopter would bring his “newly appointed official” whose arrival would put down all political disturbance.
It also reported that the attempted effort for a “change” failed as the defence ministry did not issue the necessary notification for the new appointment.
The report did not identify the “uninvited guest” but the choice of words, tenor and tone of the report unmistakably show that they could be the Army chief General Bajwa and ISI chief Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum.
It also reported that a petition was prepared by Advocate Adnan Iqbal to challenge the possible removal of Gen. Bajwa as Army chief.
Pakistan's former cricketer Imran Khan, who turned his shaky team into world champions in the 1992, failed to repeat the same charisma in the murky world of politics where he was run out by a determined Opposition in the middle of his first innings after key allies and his own lawmakers deserted him.
Khan, who effectively lost majority in the 342-member National Assembly, dissolved Parliament and called for fresh election on April 3 after the deputy speaker blocked a no-confidence motion against him.
(With inputs from PTI)
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