Army chief’s appointment: Khawaja Asif retracts statement about consulting Nawaz Sharif
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif retracted his statement about holding consultations with the PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in London regarding the army chief's appointment.
ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz senior leader Khawaja Asif has retracted his statement about holding consultations with the PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in London regarding the army chief’s appointment.
A few days ago, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed that he and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had discussed the appointment of the new army chief with PMLN supremo Muhammad Nawaz Sharif in London.
In a new statement during an interview with Geo News programme Capital Talk yesterday, Asif said that no decision was taken in London regarding the army chief’s appointment nor they received any summary. Asif was responding to a question about Imran Khan’s claims that the decision for the army chief’s appointment was being taken in London.
لندن میں آرمی چیف کی تقرری کا کوئی فیصلہ نہیں ہوا ابھی تو سمری بھی وزیراعظم کو نہیں بھجوائی گئی وزیر دفاع خواجہ آصف نے آرمی چیف کی تقرری کے حوالے سے سب خبروں کو بے بنیاد قرار دیدیا pic.twitter.com/pe9qI1KdO5
— Hamid Mir (@HamidMirPAK) November 14, 2022
He said that there is no truth in the reports. The defence minister added that not a single step was taken regarding the appointment process. The PML-N leader said that after being removed from exit control list (ECL), the party leaders used to visit London for holding consultations with Nawaz Sharif for different kinds of issues and future strategies.
When questioned about the delay in the key appointment, Asif replied that he served as the defence minister earlier but the decision for the army chief’s appointment was taken nearly November 18.
On November 10, Asif had confirmed that he and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had discussed the appointment of the new army chief with Nawaz Sharif.
Speaking in Geo News programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath, Asif said he accompanied Premier Shehbaz to London to seek Nawaz Sharif’s guidance on the issue of army chief’s appointment.
He said Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s farewell visits were a clear indication where the military wanted to lead the situation to. He ruled out the imposition of martial law in the country and expressed confidence that the army won’t take that unconstitutional step.
The defence minister said no final decision on the new army chief’s appointment had been made yet but he thought things would come out in the open in a day or two, putting all rumours and gossiping to rest for good.
“Basically, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and I visited Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to seek his guidance on the appointment of the army chief,” Asif said, adding that PTI chief Imran Khan wanted to make the army chief’s appointment a controversial issue.
Kh Asif said Imran had locked horns with the establishment in last November because he wanted to throw his weight around on the November appointment. Continuing, Asif said the summaries for appointment of the army chief in 2016 and 2018 came after November 18 and this old tradition will remain in vogue. He said the old tradition of moving summary for appointment of COAS will continue. He said the ISPR statement was a vital sign as to where the institution wanted to take the matter.
