Tag: Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa

  • ‘Mai in logon ke sath nahi bethoonga, meri team bethegi’: Khan refuses to sit with govt for talks

    ‘Mai in logon ke sath nahi bethoonga, meri team bethegi’: Khan refuses to sit with govt for talks

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said that he will not sit with the government for dialogue, asserting that if any talks are held, his team will participate instead of him.

    “I will not sit with the government. And if any dialogues are held on the issue of elections alone, my team, not me, will participate,” said the PTI chief.

    “The dialogues should only be held on elections alone. However, I will not sit with those to whom I use to call thieves and corrupt,” he clarified. “And if the talks don’t go towards holding elections, then there is no benefit of dialogues,” he added.

    Khan had hoped that after former Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa retired, there will be some change in the treatment given to his party, however, he claimed that matters have become even more difficult than they were before.

    “We were hoping that when Gen Bajwa leaves, and there is change of command there would be some change. However, we have seen no change. Everything is the same, or I should say that the policies have intensified,” said Khan in an interview to news website Urdu.com on Sunday.

    Khan said that he was not in contact with the establishment. He further said if talks are held on elections alone, his party will talk to anyone. When asked if the establishment has something personal against Khan, he said that he can’t say much about this but he knows one thing for sure that Gen (retd) Bajwa caused a lot of oppression on PTI. “We used to ask the police they would say that we have orders from higher ups,” he stated.

    Talking about forced disappearances, Khan said that he knew who was responsible for taking away PTI social media activist Azhar Mashwani.

    “We knew who took Azhar Mashwani. It was neither police who was involved nor FIA. We know which agency was behind it,” said Khan.

    “There are actually scared. They only want my complete blackout. They have banned me on media and now they’re after my social media presence,” said Khan.

  • COAS Gen Bajwa gets UAE’s highest civil award

    COAS Gen Bajwa gets UAE’s highest civil award

    Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa was given United Arab Emirates (UAE’s) highest civil award.

    Pakistan’s army chief was conferred upon Order of the Union Medal by President of UAE for making significant contributions in furthering bilateral ties between both the countries.

    UAE President Mohammad bin Zayed presented the award to General Bajwa. The army chief is on an official visit to the Gulf state.

    The military media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said General Bajwa also called upon the President of UAE, H.H Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

    Matters of mutual interest, bilateral defence, security cooperation and regional security situation discussed. The leaders agreed that Pakistan and the UAE share a great history of cordial relations

    In June, Mohammed Bin Salman decorated COAS Bajwa with the King Abdulaziz Medal of Excellent Class for making “significant contributions in defence cooperation” between Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

    The medal was named after Saudi Arabia’s founding King Abdulaziz Al Saud and is considered the highest civilian honour in KSA.

  • ‘Rubbish,’ General Bajwa speaks out against claim made by journalist about him

    ‘Rubbish,’ General Bajwa speaks out against claim made by journalist about him

    “Rubbish, totally rubbish,” said General Bajwa in response to an ARY News anchorperson’s claim about China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that was attributed to the army chief, reports Ansar Abbasi for The News and Jang.

    ARY News anchorperson Chaudhry Ghulam Hussain claimed that he was told by the army chief, in the presence of a couple of other people, that out of the initial Chinese investment of $19 billion for CPEC projects during the PML-N government, $10 billion were spent on the ground while $9 billion was stolen by contractors, government officials and political governments at the Centre and in Punjab. Ghulam Hussain said that when he asked why no action was taken, he was told by the army chief that the Chinese said they “don’t want to agitate these things in public” and that they will take action against their own people privately after investigating.

    Abbasi reports that whenThe News shared the video clip of the anchor’s claim with a defence source close to army chief General Bajwa, the source said Bajwa responded to ARY’s claim by saying, “Rubbish, totally rubbish.”

  • Bajwa, Imran concerned as Sadpara, team remain missing

    More than 45 hours have elapsed since Pakistan’s Muhammad Ali Sadpara, Iceland’s John Snorri and Chile’s JP Mohr went missing, the Alpine Club of Pakistan and the manager of the expedition, Chhang Dawa Sherpa have confirmed. A rescue operation initiated on Saturday was also unsuccessful with Pakistan Army helicopters returning to Skardu without any information of the three mountaineers who were attempting to summit K2 in the winters.

    According to reports, Sadpara, Snorri and Prieto have been missing since Friday, though news of their summit of K2 had flooded social and mainstream media Friday night. It has not yet been confirmed whether the mountaineers have summited K2.

    A rescue operation was started approximately 24 hours after the climbers lost communication with Army helicopters trying to locate them. The helicopters managed to reach 7000 metres but had to return due to the winds and worsening weather conditions.

    Meanwhile, Sajid Sadpara, the fourth mountaineer on the expedition and Ali’s son, who had begun an earlier descent due to the malfunctioning of his oxygen regulator was escorted to base from Camp 3 by a team of Nepali Sherpas led by Dawa Sherpa.

    “The search for the remaining team members continues. Appeal for prayers,” tweeted Sajid, requesting for prayers.

    https://twitter.com/SajidAliSadpara/status/1357987764088827905?s=19

    Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa have also expressed their concern over the missing climbers and are personally monitoring all developments, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari has said.

    “High altitude porters and Lama helicopter will restart search at the crack of dawn. Prayers needed from everyone for their safe return,” added the SAPM.

    President Arif Alvi also expressed his concern, saying that “we pray for their safety”.

    Meanwhile Sadpara’s colleagues, celebrities and other noted personalities are also praying for the safe return of Sadpara and his colleagues.

    https://twitter.com/Hina_RKhar/status/1358081738124234757?s=20

    Sadpara is a Pakistani mountaineer and has hoisted the country’s flag on eight peaks. He was also part of the team that successfully achieved the first-ever winter summit on Nanga Parbat in 2016.

    Earlier on Friday, a 43-year-old Bulgarian mountaineer fell to his death while trying to summit K2, the world’s second tallest peak.

  • PM Imran’s adviser ‘secretly visited’ Israel with offer to start diplomatic ties, foreign media claims

    PM Imran’s adviser ‘secretly visited’ Israel with offer to start diplomatic ties, foreign media claims

    An adviser of Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Tel Aviv in November on his British passport to relay an official message that proposed normalisation of ties between Pakistan and Israel in return for its support “to halt down Pakistan’s current cold situation with the Arab countries as well as to support it in many international issues”, claimed foreign media reports.

    According to a global think-tank director, the visit took place in the last week of Nov. “The PM’s adviser [sent to Israel] lives in the UK and has also close relations with the Trump administration.”

    According to the report, the unnamed adviser was welcomed by the Israeli officials at the airport as the visit was approved by the US. The adviser was escorted to the “foreign ministry of Israel where he met several political officials and diplomats and delivered the message of the Pakistani PM”, the reports claimed.

    “He stayed a few days in Israel where he met with the director of Israeli intelligence Mossad Yossi Cohen and delivered a secret message of Pakistan army chief,” it went on to claim.

    According to the reports that cite unnamed Israeli sources, Pakistan has sought the support of Israel to “halt down the current cold situation with the Arab countries as well as to support it in many international issues such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as well as Indian lobbying against Pakistan”.

    “In return, Pak would start political ties at a slow place due to the fear of religious bloc within the country,” they claimed, adding that the offer was welcomed by the state of Israel.

    Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has not responded to these reports yet. However, the FO has many times rejected the reports pertaining to the normalisation of ties with Israel as baseless.

    Last month, the prime minister had told a journalist on TV that some Muslim states and the US were putting pressure on Pakistan to recognise Israel.

  • ‘Notification rejected’: Nawaz refuses to trust army probe

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif has refused to accept an inquiry report pertaining to the involvement of the Rangers and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officials in the arrest of Capt (r) Safdar, saying the report shied away from naming the “real culprits”.

    In a tweet, the former prime minister, who has been in s self-imposed exile in London for almost a year now for medical reasons, termed the report as a “cover-up”.

    “Inquiry report on Karachi incident is a cover-up scapegoating juniors and shielding the real culprits. Report “Rejected”,” the ousted premier tweeted.

    It may be noted here that only Nawaz Sharif from the PML-N has commented on the inquiry report.

    As for the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), its spokesperson Mian Iftikhar Hussain termed the development in the inquiry “a victory of the democratic forces”. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, also welcomed the report.

    In a statement on Tuesday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had said that the court of inquiry constituted to redress the grievances of the Sindh IG, on the orders of COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, had been completed.

    “The court of inquiry has established that on the night of Oct 18/Oct 19, officers from Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) and ISI sector Headquarters Karachi were considerably seized with the fall out of the desecration of Mazare Quaid [Jinnah’s mausoleum],” read a statement issued by the military’s media wing.

    “They were under increasing public pressure to ensure prompt action as per the law. Assessing the response of police authorities against this developing yet volatile situation to be slow and wanting, in a charged environment, the concerned officers decided to act, rather overzealously,” the ISPR statement had said.

    “They were indeed experienced enough to have acted more prudently and could have avoided creating an unwarranted situation that led to the misunderstanding between the two state institutions.

    “Based on the recommendations of the court of inquiry, it has been decided to remove the concerned officers from their current assignments for further departmental proceedings and disposal at GHQ,” the statement had added.

    KARACHI INCIDENT:

    Last month, the ISPR had said the army chief had taken notice of and ordered an immediate inquiry into the “Karachi incident”, Dawn reported.

    At the time, the ISPR did not specify which incident it was referring to. However, the statement came minutes after PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari called on Gen Bajwa and ISI Director General (DG) Faiz Hameed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the arrest of the PML-N leader, who was in Karachi for an anti-government rally of the joint opposition.

    On October 19, Safdar, who was staying at a hotel with his wife, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, was arrested for “violating the sanctity of Jinnah’s mausoleum” by raising political slogans at the venue, surrounded by hundreds of party workers.

    Following Safdar’s arrest, a purported voice message by PML-N leader and former Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair was shared by a journalist in which Zubair alleged that the IG was kidnapped and forced to register the FIR [First Information Report] against Maryam, her husband Safdar and 200 others for violating the sanctity of the tomb.

    In the audio clip circulating on Twitter, Zubair said that Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah confirmed to him that police were pressured into making the arrest. “When they [police] refused to do that, Rangers kidnapped [the IGP],” Zubair had said.

    Maryam had also alleged that the Sindh police chief was forcibly “taken to the sector commander’s office and asked to sign on the arrest orders”.

    The statement by the military’s media wing comes days after PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif said that the inquiry into the “alleged abduction” of the Sindh IG and additional IG, and the “storming of Maryam’s room” had not been made public despite Gen Bajwa’s “personal assurance”.

  • Army needs to distance itself from PTI, says retired general

    Army needs to distance itself from PTI, says retired general

    Defence analyst Lt Gen (r) Ghulam Mustafa has urged the Pakistan Army to distance itself from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in order to kill the impression that the ruling party has the support of the military.

    In a TV show, the analyst said the impression that the army has gotten PTI’s back needs to be defused as it is damaging the reputation of the state institution.

    Mustafa said the opposition, however, was being unfair for claiming that the army was supporting the ruling PTI. He said the military stood by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government in 2014 during the protests led by Imran Khan, but nobody accused it of “supporting the Nawaz-led government”.

    He said the army chief needed to take measures to take his force out of the tug of war between the political parties, as the current situation was rapidly heading towards disaster.

    The defence analyst’s comments came in the wake of countrywide protests by the joint opposition alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement.

    During its first rally in Gujranwala on Oct 18, former prime minister and PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif hit out at the security establishment for ousting his government and installing Imran Khan in power. This was the first time that the opposition named a sitting army chief for meddling in the elections.

    Nawaz addressed the crowd via video link from London. “Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, you packed up our government, which was working well, and put the nation and the country at the alter of your wishes,” the former PM added.

  • Boxer Amir Khan calls army ‘backbone’ of Pakistan, declines to join politics

    British-Pakistani boxer Amir Khan is all-praise for the Pakistan Army, saying the military was the “backbone of the country”.

    In a couple of tweets, the former boxing champion, who was invited to enter the politics, said that he wouldn’t join the politics on the advice of his counsels. He added that Pakistan was run by an “amazing PM” whom “we trust”. But Khan said he would continue to do “charity work @AKFoundation in UK, Pakistan and rest of the world to make areas better and safer”.

    The boxer said he has “big respect” for the Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, and Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) head Major Gen Babar Iftikhar. “Every attack, floods, earthquakes the Pakistan army are the first to reach and help,” he added.

    Earlier this week, the British-Pakistani sportsman revealed that he was asked to join the politics during his visit to Pakistan.

    “I have been asked numerous times if I would join politics in Pakistan. Being a sportsman and being an ambassador for the country, I’m honoured to [be] asked if I would take part in politics, in fact, I would love to help the country,” said the former boxing champion after the visit.

    He continued: “I’ve sat with many politicians and army generals agreeing and disagreeing on topics in the country. My heart is clean and I would want the best for Pakistan.”

  • VIDEO: PM says he’ll sack anyone from establishment who asks for his resignation

    VIDEO: PM says he’ll sack anyone from establishment who asks for his resignation

    Soon after deposed prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif claimed that he was told to resign by former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general (DG) Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam, PM Imran Khan has said he would take on anyone who dares to tell him to step down as a democratically-elected PM.

    “He [Nawaz] claims he was told by the army… Gen Zaheerul Islam… to resign. You are the PM… how can he dare to demand so from you?” the premier said while speaking to senior journalist Nadeem Malik in an interview that will air tonight at 7:05 pm on SAMAA.

    When asked what would Imran Khan do if he is asked to resign, the premier said he, being the PM, would immediately ask for that person’s resignation. “I am the country’s PM,” he said, to which Malik asked him if he would sack that person.

    “Who can dare to ask me to step down? I am a democratically-elected PM,” Imran replied.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    To a question regarding ailing former PM Nawaz’s return to the country, the premier said a convict had left the country after lying about his health and was now “conspiring against Pakistan”.

    “We will bring him back,” he added.

    A day earlier, Nawaz, who is seeking medical treatment abroad, had said the entire country knows what the former ISI chief had done. He claimed that Zaheerul Islam had at midnight sent him a message seeking his resignation.

    “He threatened to impose martial law if I didn’t step down but I refused to resign at all costs,” Nawaz had added.

  • Nawaz ready to support COAS’s extension legislation, but has conditions: report

    Former prime minister (PM) has agreed to lend support for the legislation in army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa’s extension matter, but with a condition, The Express Tribune reported.

    According to the details, former premier is flexible to supporting the Pakistan Tehreeke Insaf (PTI) government legislation to fix the army chief’s tenure but has reservations on giving a legal cover to giving extension to an army chief.

    The government reportedly before filing a review petition against the Supreme Court’s verdict in Gen Bajwa’s extension case tried to gain support of the opposition parties, including Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), for required legislation.

    “The government had approached us through intermediaries”, reports quoted unknown officials from two opposition parties belonging to the PPP and the PML-N.

    But after failing to gather ‘desirable support’ from them, the government after nearly a month decided to file review petition in the apex court.

    Reports also reveal that a senior legal advisor of the PML-N has said that most party lawmakers believe that by supporting the ruling government on the extension issue could potentially harm the party’s own narrative which it has adopted since the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif as PM on July 28, 2017.

    He furhter alleged that the government stage-managed the arrest of PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal and denied Maryam Nawaz permission to fly abroad to London after its failure to bend the PML-N and secure ‘unconditional support’ for the extension legislation.

    On the other hand, the PPP has reportedly set certain preconditions for supporting the legislation, which include proposed legislation on the NAB [National Accountability Bureau] law, the appointment of chief election commissioner, and elections reforms.

    On November 28, the Supreme Court had allowed the federal government to grant a six-month conditional extension to Chief of Army Staff (COAS). SC also directed the government to bring necessary legislation within six months’ time.