ISLAMABAD: Taking a dig at his party’s ally Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain Tuesday said the army chief had to intervene in the economic affairs of the country due to the “failure of politicians”.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Shujaat said only politicians were to be blamed for the prevailing economic crisis.
“Politicians should have discussed the economy instead of the army chief,” he added.
His statement came days after Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa reached out to Washington to push the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to immediately release nearly $1.2 billion Pakistan needs to stave off serious upheaval.
The army chief’s ‘appeals’ to the United States are in tandem with his discussions with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over measures for the restoration of confidence in the economy.
Speaking on the occasion, Shujaat also revealed that PTI Chairman Imran Khan as prime minister had refused to make PML-Q leader Moonis Elahi a federal minister and took up the matter of his “corruption scandal” with him.
“I had urged Imran Khan to make Moonis Elahi federal minister but he offered to make Chaudhry Salik Hussain [son of PML-Q chief] a minister,” he added.
Speaking about the rifts in the famous Chaudhry family of Gujrat, PML-Q Secretary General Tariq Bashir Cheema said that an attempt was made to create rifts in the party and added that no one could remove Shujaat as the president of the party.
The PML-Q decided earlier this week to remove party President Shujaat and General Secretary Cheema and hold a fresh election for the top posts within 10 days, senior party leader Senator Kamil Ali Agha said.
The decisions were taken in a meeting of the PML-Q Central Working Committee (CWC), chaired by Senator Agha. The meeting also formed a five-member election commission, headed by Jahangir A Joja, for the intra-party elections.
“How can provincial party bearer summon party’s central leadership meeting, he does not have the authority to remove Chaudhry Shujaat,” he remarked.
