Islamabad: A former Chief Justice of Supreme courtA retired army general and a prominent businessman were persuaded to evict Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan A media report on Saturday said his party in Islamabad for not going ahead with the planned sit-in at the end of the long march.
Khan began his ‘Azadi March’ to press for fresh elections in the country with the announcement of a sit-in in Islamabad on March 25, but later withdrew it saying that the government would be happy if it did. As it will lead to conflict between the people, the police and the army.
He told thousands of his supporters, “I had decided that I will sit here till the government dissolves the assemblies and announces elections, but what I have seen in the last 24 hours, they (government) Leading the country towards anarchy.” ‘Azadi March’ at Jinnah Avenue on Thursday morning.
At the end of the long march, Khan’s astonishing decision not to picket took almost everyone by surprise – enemies and allies alike.
As the Dawn newspaper reports, there is uniformity on one thing – the way it all ended, at least for now, was a clear indication of who did it.
Quoting a source, the report said that those who acted in the middle included a former chief justice, a prominent businessman and a retired general.
“Given Imran Khan’s insistence and the fact that he had put in a lot of effort, it was not an easy task,” said a source close to the talks.
Though the source did not share the chronology of the talks, the discussions seem to have continued till late Wednesday night and possibly into the early hours of Thursday, the report said.
Khan agreed to return without staging the planned dharna on assurances that the date for the dissolution of the legislatures and new general elections would be announced in June.
Deposed Prime Minister Khan on Thursday gave a six-day deadline Shahbaz Sharif To dissolve the provincial assemblies and announce new general elections, the government warned that if the “imported government” failed to do so, it would return to the capital with “the whole country”.
“My message to the imported government is to dissolve the assemblies and announce elections, otherwise, I will come to Islamabad again after six days,” he said on Thursday.
According to the Dawn newspaper report, the general belief is that the army eventually had to play its part to prevent things from spiraling out of control.
Retired Lt Gen Naeem Khalid Lodhi, former National Security Advisor, categorically admitted that he too agrees.
“There is a strong possibility of a positive intervention by the Army to prevent anarchy and return to political stability so that the process of reviving the economy can begin,” Lodhi said.
Another retired general, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that top officials had a feeling that no one would be able to escape responsibility if the matter went in the wrong direction.
A source claimed that the biggest challenge for the army was to open communication channels with Khan, especially given their bad relations. But, as the former prime minister went ahead with the plans for the long march, a sense of urgency was felt everywhere and multiple channels were employed to bring them about.
The rift between the former government and the army began late last year when the establishment decided to end all support given to the Khan-led PTI government.
The then opposition will point fingers at the ‘selectors’ – a euphemism used by them to blame the army for helping PTI form the government.
“It was decided that the army would not play any role in political matters,” a source said.
However, this withdrawal of support was misconstrued by Khan as a military side with his opponents.
This is how “neutral” began to appear in the former prime minister’s political statements. His view was that he was righteous and the rest were evil and therefore the military should continue to support him, the report said.
lieutenant General Faiz Hameedtransfer and posting Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum A political source said that the appearance of the ISI chief – which many believe eventually led to the breakup – was actually a result of the army’s decision to distance itself from political affairs, which had watched the episode closely.
Khan, who was ousted last month via a no-confidence motion, apparently lost the military’s backing after refusing to support the appointment of the ISI spy agency chief last year.
He has been claiming that the no-confidence motion against him was the result of a “foreign conspiracy” as his independent foreign policy and money were being diverted from abroad to oust him from power. He has named the US behind the conspiracy, a charge Washington has denied.
Khan began his ‘Azadi March’ to press for fresh elections in the country with the announcement of a sit-in in Islamabad on March 25, but later withdrew it saying that the government would be happy if it did. As it will lead to conflict between the people, the police and the army.
He told thousands of his supporters, “I had decided that I will sit here till the government dissolves the assemblies and announces elections, but what I have seen in the last 24 hours, they (government) Leading the country towards anarchy.” ‘Azadi March’ at Jinnah Avenue on Thursday morning.
At the end of the long march, Khan’s astonishing decision not to picket took almost everyone by surprise – enemies and allies alike.
As the Dawn newspaper reports, there is uniformity on one thing – the way it all ended, at least for now, was a clear indication of who did it.
Quoting a source, the report said that those who acted in the middle included a former chief justice, a prominent businessman and a retired general.
“Given Imran Khan’s insistence and the fact that he had put in a lot of effort, it was not an easy task,” said a source close to the talks.
Though the source did not share the chronology of the talks, the discussions seem to have continued till late Wednesday night and possibly into the early hours of Thursday, the report said.
Khan agreed to return without staging the planned dharna on assurances that the date for the dissolution of the legislatures and new general elections would be announced in June.
Deposed Prime Minister Khan on Thursday gave a six-day deadline Shahbaz Sharif To dissolve the provincial assemblies and announce new general elections, the government warned that if the “imported government” failed to do so, it would return to the capital with “the whole country”.
“My message to the imported government is to dissolve the assemblies and announce elections, otherwise, I will come to Islamabad again after six days,” he said on Thursday.
According to the Dawn newspaper report, the general belief is that the army eventually had to play its part to prevent things from spiraling out of control.
Retired Lt Gen Naeem Khalid Lodhi, former National Security Advisor, categorically admitted that he too agrees.
“There is a strong possibility of a positive intervention by the Army to prevent anarchy and return to political stability so that the process of reviving the economy can begin,” Lodhi said.
Another retired general, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that top officials had a feeling that no one would be able to escape responsibility if the matter went in the wrong direction.
A source claimed that the biggest challenge for the army was to open communication channels with Khan, especially given their bad relations. But, as the former prime minister went ahead with the plans for the long march, a sense of urgency was felt everywhere and multiple channels were employed to bring them about.
The rift between the former government and the army began late last year when the establishment decided to end all support given to the Khan-led PTI government.
The then opposition will point fingers at the ‘selectors’ – a euphemism used by them to blame the army for helping PTI form the government.
“It was decided that the army would not play any role in political matters,” a source said.
However, this withdrawal of support was misconstrued by Khan as a military side with his opponents.
This is how “neutral” began to appear in the former prime minister’s political statements. His view was that he was righteous and the rest were evil and therefore the military should continue to support him, the report said.
lieutenant General Faiz Hameedtransfer and posting Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum A political source said that the appearance of the ISI chief – which many believe eventually led to the breakup – was actually a result of the army’s decision to distance itself from political affairs, which had watched the episode closely.
Khan, who was ousted last month via a no-confidence motion, apparently lost the military’s backing after refusing to support the appointment of the ISI spy agency chief last year.
He has been claiming that the no-confidence motion against him was the result of a “foreign conspiracy” as his independent foreign policy and money were being diverted from abroad to oust him from power. He has named the US behind the conspiracy, a charge Washington has denied.