Imran Khan wants army chief of his choice to control opposition: PPP leader

KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) leader Saeed Ghani has said that PTI chairman Imran Khan wants to control opposition by appointing army chief of his choice.

Addressing the press conference in Karachi on Sunday, he said that Chairman PTI and Indian media are on the same page. “The country is above the party interest. Not even a fruit seller gives a receipt like the one shown for the watch.”

Saeed Ghani said that the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan, has made a mockery of the democratic system in Pakistan by making the vicious attempt of exerting his own will on the issue of appointment of the new army chief.

The Sindh Labor Minister said that Pakistan’s reputation at the global level had been tainted by the way the PTI Chairman had attempted to set a bad precedent for appointments against key state positions.

Ghani said the latest long march started by the PTI Chairman had just one objective i.e. undue attempt by Imran Khan to impose his own will on the issue of key appointments in Pakistan. He said the PTI Chairman wanted that his favorites should hold key positions in the country to enable him to victimize his political opponents. He was of the view that Imran Khan should be arrested for his proven involvement in the attempt to undermine the constitution. “It is beyond my comprehension as to why the federal government has been desisting from taking the due lawful action against Imran Khan after he emerged as a security threat for the state,” he said.

The Sindh Labor Minister said that Imran Khan had opted to bury his own politics by deciding to come to Rawalpindi on November 26 for a protest. He said the long march of the PTI Chairman would remain unsuccessful as Imran Khan had nothing to do with the upcoming appointment of the new army chief. He mentioned that as per the constitution appointment of the new Chief of Army Staff was solely the prerogative of the Prime Minister as the PM could elevate anyone among the senior most serving generals as the new army chief.

“Appointment and retirement of the army chief is a routine matter in the country but Imran Khan has been trying to set a precedent that key appointments in the army should be made according to his will,” he said. He lamented that Imran Khan deemed the persons unpatriotic who were appointed against the key state positions by the incumbent PM.

He was of the view that the latest long march of the PTI was an attempt to render controversial the upcoming key appointments in the country. He said that although the PTI claimed that it had become the most popular political force in the country but Imran Khan still needed backdoor means to come again into power. He lamented that Imran Khan wanted to influence the media, judiciary, and other state institutions to gain access to power.

Ghani, who is also PPP Karachi President, said that a historical public meeting would be held in the famous Nishtar Park of the city on November 30 to celebrate the 55th foundation day of the party.

He mentioned that PPP’s workers had warmly welcomed the decision of the party leadership to award a ticket to senior politician Waqar Mehdi to contest the upcoming Senate by-poll in Sindh.