ISLAMABAD: The extension in tenure given to Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa by then-prime minister Imran Khan in 2019 was a mistake Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) now regretted, admitted former National Assembly speaker and a top leader of the opposition party Saturday.
The cabinet of Khan approved a three-year extension for the top general in 2019, citing a worsening national security situation in the region over the rivalry with India, in a move later ratified by present-day Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) component parties.
“All parties shunned their differences and stood united in the best national interest,” Firdous Ashiq Awan, then-minister for information, told reporters.
The admission by Asad Qaiser, who served as the speaker of the National Assembly between 2018 and 2022, came in an interview on a Dawn News chat show a week after Gen. Bajwa retired after completing six years at the helm of the military.
“Everyone [in the party] has now come to the realisation that the extension was a mistake,” he said.
When asked about background discussions leading to the decision, Qaiser said: “It was the wrong decision, no matter why or how it was taken.”
He, however, added it was a “collective decision” of all political parties. “The parties have become basically dynastic parties with no roots among the people,” he said.
Commenting about his party’s conditional offer for talks with the government, Qaiser said Khan was ready for negotiations “provided that elections are a prominent part of the agenda”.
