Won’t take action against Bajwa if attain power: Imran Khan

• Imran Khan says he asked Bajwa to arrest 10-12 people.
• Ex-COAS wanted Aleem Khan to be CM Punjab, says PTI chief.
• Elections within 90 days of dissolution is test of "neutrality":Imran

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan on Sunday said that he will not take any action against Gen (retd) Bajwa if he attains power again, terming his grievances with the former COAS "a personal dispute."

The former premier made these remarks during a meeting with a delegation of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.

Imran added that the new Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir has said that they will remain neutral. However, he added that the biggest test of his neutrality would be holding elections within three months of the dissolution of KP and Punjab assemblies.

The PTI chief added that he became certain that a plan had been hatched to topple the PTI government when Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed was removed as DG ISI. 

“I told Gen Bajwa that if the plan to topple the government succeeds, no one will be able to manage the country’s economy,” he added.

Imran Khan said that he inquired the former army chief how could Shehbaz, who is named in Rs16 billion worth of corruption cases, be considered for the prime minister's post, but he later came to know that corruption was not an issue for General (retd) Bajwa.

The PTI chief reiterated that the former COAS wanted Aleem Khan to be the chief minister of Punjab. However, he found out about Aleem Khan's involvement in corruption and denied his request, he added.

Imran said that the country's economy would have performed even sounder if a global pandemic has not struck, shutting down the world, especially China for two years.

The country's economy is plummeting while people's incomes are stagnant, how can loans be returned in this situation, he questioned? A country cannot prosper if there is no rule of law, he added.

“I told Gen Bajwa that if we catch 10 to 12 top corrupt people, everything will get back on the right track. We had a decent relationship with Gen Bajwa but I don t know what happened later,” he said.

Talking about the Toshakhana case, the PTI chief said that if there was corruption during his tenure, then the opponents would have raised it rather than highlighting the Toshakhana issue only.

“Toshakhana is not a museum. If I had not bought the watch, it would have been bought by someone else during an auction,” he said, adding that Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari too bought expensive cars from the Toshakhana.

The former prime minister further said that he will not form a weak government this time as it is unable to produce results.