Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has revealed that he was threatened with a martial law in Nov last year, just a week prior to the appointment of the new army chief of the country.
“During the last week before new army chief’s appointment, there was a point when I though martial law was going to be imposed,” the premier said during an interview with journalist Hamid Mir, on Tuesday.
Mir confirmed that he had also been ‘directly’ warned of the possibility of martial law, in response to the premier’s stance.
Replacing Nawaz
Shehbaz, who is also the president of the PML-N, made it clear in the presence of Gen Bajwa, Gen Naveed Mukhtar, and Gen Faiz Hameed that if anyone thought that he would stab his brother [Nawaz] in the back to become the prime minister, he could sacrifice 10 such ministries for him.
He told Mir that Nawaz is his brother and his leader, and is like a father to him, adding that it is a part of politics and democracy to have a difference of opinion.
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The premier further said that in such a situation, he conveys his stance to his brother behind closed doors or during a meeting of the close aides.
“Sometimes, he approves of my stance while at other times, he doesn’t; he is a leader and it is his decision to make,” he remarked.
Asim Munir as COAS
When asked if the first summary received for the appointment of the army chief actually didn’t have Gen Asim’s name in it, he confirmed that the summary was indeed delayed by the military.
However, he maintained, when the summary reached me, it had Gen Syed Asim Munir’s name on the top.
Cases against Imran
The premier said that he didn’t file a single case against Imran Khan during his term, saying the law is in action against him as part of the process.
On the other hand, he added, Imran and his supporters tried to push us to the wall during his own term.
Imran spoke indecently about the judiciary and is now trying to use excuses to avoid an arrest, he said.
