Blame 'Drama' over Army chief's appointment for Pak's current situation: Imran Khan
India Today
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has blamed 'drama' over Army chief's appointment for the country's current situation.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday blamed the "drama" over the appointment of the next Army chief for the country's current situation and said that the successor to Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa should be appointed on the basis of merit.
Appointed in 2016, the current Chief of Army Staff Gen Bajwa, 61, is set to retire in the last week of November. The Army chief’s appointment is meant to be for three years, but Gen Bajwa was given an additional three-year term in 2019 after some political drama. Then-prime minister Khan had given him an extension in August, but the Supreme Court later demanded a legislation on the re-appointment of the services chiefs.
Pakistan's Parliament complied in January 2020, allowing the prime minister to extend the tenure of services chiefs at his discretion. The legislation had, however, fixed 64 as the age at which a service chief must be retired.
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Gen Bajwa can therefore be eligible for another term. This technicality had led to speculation that the incumbent may be seeking or interested in another extension.
A senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, who is a member of the federal Cabinet has hinted that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif could initiate discussions on the appointment of the next Army chief by the end of August, and possibly take a decision by mid-September.
In a conversation with social media influencers here, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman connected the current situation in Pakistan to the Chief of Army Staff's appointment, terming it "unfortunate" that everything in the country was happening over one appointment, the Geo News reported.
