Debate over next Army Chief now hot topic in Pakistan

Pakistani General Qamar Javed Bajwa

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Debate in Pakistan, even amid flash floods and economic turmoil, remains pinned on who should be appointed as the next Army Chief in the next snap elections, Geo Politica reported.

Pakistan is currently experiencing the brunt of devastating floods which have affected one-third of the country and have laid a huge impact on livestock and crops. Next is Pakistan’s economy which continues to remain in shambles and relies heavily on bailout packages from International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Still, debates in Pakistan are solidly anchored over the appointment of the next Army Chief once Pakistani General Qamar Javed Bajwa retires. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has criticized the government for delaying the elections allegedly to appoint an army chief of its own.

After this, the Islamabad High Court appeared to criticize the cricketer-turned-politician observing that everything has been put at stake for a “game of thrones,” media reports said.

Imran Khan’s statement on Army prompted the Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court Athar Minallah to question how the former prime minister could say in public whether an army chief was a patriot or not.

In his latest public statement regarding the army chief appointment, he has tried to discredit the future chief at a time when nobody even knows who would be the army chief. It appears Imran’s frustration has attained new heights, the report said.

Imran Khan in a bid to make political gains is maligning the country’s apex institutions and making defamatory commentaries. Irrespective of the fact whether Imran Khan’s comments are legal, illegal, constitutional or unconstitutional, all that the PTI chief wants early elections.

There are a series of actions and utterances from the PTI which show Khan and his party leaders’ frustration to get early elections reaching such a level that they see no ethics or morality and even don’t care about the interest of the institution and the country.

Imran Khan’s statement created doubts about the new army chief at a time when no one knows who would be the next COAS. Ever since his ouster from the Prime Minister’s Office, Imran Khan’s main target has been the country’s military establishment whom he alleges of being part of US conspiracy to remove his government, as per the media portal.

But Imran Khan’s links, evidently, remained firm with the Army. He is “in direct touch” with the army, euphemistically called the ‘establishment’, which told Imran that the elections would be held in March next year, four months before schedule.

He speculates that a formal announcement of the polls will be in January 2023, reported Geo Politica. (ANI)