By Naveed Naqvi
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said he has rejected a proposal from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on the appointment of a successor to army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
PM Sharif said Khan through a mutual business friend contacted him a month ago on the appointment of a new army chief and offered him the nomination of three potential candidates for the post from his side.
General Bajwa is set to retire on November 29 after holding the top post for six years. After an initial appointment in 2016 for three years tenure, his service was extended for another three years in 2019 by the then-government of Khan. General Bajwa earlier this month said he would not seek an extension in service.
The PM was talking to journalists in Lahore.
“He (Khan) wanted to discuss the appointment of the army chief and the elections. I refused, but asked to discuss the Charter of Democracy and the Charter of Economy,” PM Sharif said.
“I (Imran Khan) am sending three names, three you give, and together we get the army chief,” Sharif quoted Khan as saying. “I declined saying thank you.”
The Prime Minister said the PTI chief wanted to settle the appointment of the army chief and elections issues through dialogue.
“I sent a message (to Imran Khan) that the appointment of army chief is the constitutional right of the prime minister and he would do it on his own,” he said.
The retirement of general Bajwa and the upcoming appointment of a new army chief has been in the headlines for quite some time for all the wrong reasons.
In September, the ousted Khan said that Bajwa should be given another extension until the new government is elected. When Khan was in power, the opposition accused him of trying to bring an army chief of his choice who could support his alleged agenda of victimizing opposition leaders.
Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum, director general Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) told the news conference that General Bajwa was given an indefinite extension in his tenure offer in March by the Khan’s government ahead of the Pakistan Democratic Movement-led no-confidence vote in the parliament.
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