ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday that the Supreme Court verdict allowing six months’ extension in tenure of Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa disappointed those expecting “clash of institutions”, external enemies and “mafia” within the country.

The prime minister was, however, criticised by his own party legislators for not attending a meeting of the parliamentary committee of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) he had called to review the decision of the apex court. They were of the view that the prime minister should have sacked former law minister Farogh Naseem before he had tendered his resignation.

Addressing diplomats at function, Prime Minister Khan indirectly criticised the opposition, saying the apex court’s decision had also disappointed those who had looted the national wealth and committed money laundering. “These mafias have stashed their loot abroad and seek to protect their loot by destabilising the country,” he added.

“Today must be a great disappointment to those who expected the country to be destabilised by a clash of institutions. That this did not happen must be of special disappointment to our external enemies & mafias within,” the prime minister said in a tweet.

He said he and his party had struggled for the rule of law and independence of the judiciary. In another tweet, he said: “For the record, 23 years ago we were the first party to advocate an independent judiciary and rule of law. In 2007, PTI was in the forefront of the movement for independence of the judiciary & I was jailed for it.”

PM Khan also praised Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa for passing what he called historic judgement on the issue of extension in service of the army chief. “Also, for the record, I have the greatest respect for CJ Khosa, one of the greatest jurists produced by Pakistan,” he tweeted.

The prime minister also criticised the opposition for holding a sit-in in the federal capital earlier this month and said it had put the important issue of Kashmir on the back burner and benefited the cause of India. “Earlier, they [opposition] had tried to destabilise the Kashmir issue through dharna, but now they were expecting clash of institutions on the issue of extension in the service of the army chief,” he said.

He, however, said there was a complete harmony among all institutions.

PTI parliamentary panel

Prime Minister Khan was criticised by his own party legislators and allies for no attending the meeting of the PTI’s parliamentary committee. The meeting, which was to be chaired by the prime minister, was presided over by Foreign Minister and PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

A participant of the meeting told Dawn on condition of anonymity that Akram Cheema, a PTI legislator from Karachi, and others complained that the prime minister could address diplomats but not his own party members and allies. “I was asked to attend the meeting and I came from Karachi, but faced disappointment when PM did not participate in it,” Mr Cheema was quoted as saying.

Another PTI leader retired Maj Tahir Sadiq and some other participants of the meeting lashed out at former law minister Farogh Naseem for leaving errors and lacunas in draft notifications regarding the army chief’s extension, bringing a bad name and humiliation to the government.

Some of them were of the view that before he [Mr Naseem] gave his resignation, Prime Minister Khan should have sacked him for his ‘irresponsible’ role in the whole judicial episode that lasted three days.

Meanwhile, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurengzeb said in a statement that Prime Minister Khan was trying to hide his “utter embarrassment” by the courts with meaningless statements. She said the apex court, too, had endorsed this reality and pointed out Imran Khan’s inability and cluelessness over and over again.

“Like always, Imran is trying to dump the burden of his inadequacy, ineptitude and incompetence on others. He could not prove a dime of corruption whom he called thieves, but he surely have proven his incompetence, inability and lies beyond any doubt every single second of his existence to the people of Pakistan,” she added.

Ms Aurengzeb said the PML-N respected the verdict of the honorable judiciary over the extension in service of the army chief.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2019