Bilawal rejects rumours claiming Saudi crown prince’s visit postponed due to PTI’s long march

• “I don’t think Mohammed bin Salman’s visit was postponed due to Imran Khan’s long march,” says Bilawal
• Foreign minister advises Imran Khan to not make the appointment of army chief controversial.
• The president will have to face consequences if Khan fails to fulfil his constitutional responsibilities, warns Bilawal.

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Saturday rejected rumours claiming that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s scheduled visit to Pakistan was postponed due to the PTI’s long march and political turmoil in the country.

Addressing a press conference, Bilawal said, “I don’t think Mohammed bin Salman’s visit was postponed due to Imran Khan’s long march.”

Berating PTI Chairman Imran Khan, the foreign minister said that the party’s long march on Islamabad was aimed at making the appointment of the next army chief controversial.

“There is no democratic objective of Imran Khan’s long march,” he said, adding that the former prime minister had offered a lifetime extension offer to the incumbent army chief to avoid the no-confidence motion.

“Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa rejected the offer for the sake of Pakistan,” he added.

The foreign minister maintained that Imran Khan wanted to make the implementation of the constitution controversial.

He held the former prime minister responsible for the economic crisis in the country and said that Khan wanted to sabotage the deal between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The PPP chairman said that his party was against sit-ins since the beginning, adding that they adopted a democratic way to oust Imran Khan’s government

Responding to a question, Bilawal said that the army chief’s appointment is the prerogative of the prime minister. He advised the PTI chairman to let the process for appointing the new chief of army staff be completed and postpone his long march for a few days.

He suggested Imran Khan to not make the appointment of the army chief controversial.

It is the last chance for Imran Khan to fulfil his constitutional responsibility otherwise the president will have to face the consequences, he warned.