In more trouble for Imran Khan, close aide Aamir Liaquat has come out all guns blazing against the interim prime minister after quitting the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf following his controversial dissolution of the National Assembly to sidestep a trust vote.
Calling Imran Khan a “traitor”, the televangelist claimed the PM wanted to “remove” Pakistan army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa by engineering a “revolt” in military ranks. He further alleged that senior leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi was part of the “conspiracy”.
Liaquat further said that a purported letter which Khan claims proves US interference in the Pakistan’s affairs is fake. “It is very clear Imran fabricated the whole issue with the fake letter. The real matter was that Imran wanted Lt Gen Faiz Hameed as new Army chief,” Liaquat has been quoted as saying.
The former ally’s claims come as Pakistan’s Supreme Court resumes hearing on Wednesday to decide the legality of Imran Khan’s move to block a trust vote against him, setting the stage for snap elections.
Experts say that the most significant decision before the Supreme Court is whether Khan’s ally and Pakistan’s deputy parliament speaker Qasim Suri had the constitutional authority to throw out the no-confidence vote.
If the court rules the deputy speaker was out of line, the parliament will reconvene and hold the no-confidence vote on Khan, legal experts say. If the court upholds the latest actions, Pakistan is heading into early elections. The opposition says it has the 172 votes in the 342-seat assembly to oust Khan.
Separately, Pakistani President Arif Alvi, another Khan ally, was ignoring the deliberations before the Supreme Court and was forging ahead with preparations for an interim government that would see Pakistan through elections. Under the constitution, Khan would remain prime minister until the appointment of a caretaker premier, Alvi said in a tweet.
Under Pressure in Punjab
Adding more pressure on the cornered PTI in Punjab, meanwhile, the province’s advocate general has assured in court to convene an assembly session on April 6. The session had earlier been postponed to April 16.
The PTI government in Punjab had controversially removed the Punjab governor for not accepting its demands. If the session goes forth, the assembly will vote for a new leader with the choice between Parvez Elahi and Hamza Shahbaz Sharif.
Army Stand
Pakistan’s powerful military — which has directly ruled the country for more than half of its 75-year history — has remained silent through much of the political infighting.
However, Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa on Sunday distanced the military from allegations of a US-backed conspiracy, saying Pakistan wants good relations with both China and the US, Pakistan’s largest trading partner.
Khan, an outspoken critic of Washington’s war on terror and Pakistan’s partnership in that war, claims the US wants him gone because of his foreign policy choices and for refusing to distance Pakistan from China and Russia.
With agency inputs
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