Former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa wanted to impose martial law and hang a few thousand after, maverick journalist Hamid Mir says in his latest column.
The journalist made the claim in connection with remarks by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry on how former premier Imran Khan had saved Pakistan from military rule by letting President Arif Alvi sign a summary on the army chief’s appointment.
Mir said he had witnessed Bajwa talk of imposing martial law scores of times. The journalist went on to add that the former COAS had also sometimes spoken, in between the lines, about “hanging a few thousand”.
The general addressed a security workshop at the National Defence University (NDU) a few days prior to his retirement, the journalist said. While he commenced his address by reiterating how the military had decided in February, 2021 to not intervene in politics he then spoke about how convenient it was to impose martial law.
Bajwa also said that the military always had a list of those it intended to nab following the imposition of martial law. Mir said that the former COAS had then addressed him and said: “You are periodically on and off the list.”
