Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister on Tuesday described the arrest of ex-ISI chief Faiz Hameed as an “internal matter” of the army and said the military’s action against the former general had nothing to do with his party.
Mr Hameed served as the Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from 2019 to 2021 when Mr Khan was the Prime Minister and was accused of meddling in political affairs at his behest.
“All Imran Khan sahab said was that ‘this is an internal matter of the army’ and whatever action the army has taken has nothing to do with the PTI or Khan sahab,” Mr Khan’s legal representative Intezaar Panjutha said.
Mr Panjutha made these remarks after Mr Khan’s meeting with his senior lawyers at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
Mr Panjutha quoted Mr Khan as saying that this is a purely military matter and has nothing to do with PTI. He further clarified that there is no political connection between Mr Khan and Gen Faiz.
According to the lawyer, Mr Khan also claimed that former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had replaced Gen Faiz after reaching a compromise with Nawaz Sharif.
Panjutha said Mr Khan also suggested that if Gen Faiz’s arrest was related to the May 9 events, it would be an appropriate time to constitute a judicial commission and bring to light the CCTV footage of that day.
He also said that the former Prime Minister urged his followers to protest peacefully tonight for freedom and stressed the importance of taking to the streets for the nation.
Mr Panjutha also highlighted Mr Khan’s concerns over the growing pressure on the Supreme Court, frustration among youth and the deteriorating situation in Pakistan and compared it with Bangladesh.
He said Mr Khan believed it was time for Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa to step down from his post. He highlighted that three PTI seats were reportedly taken away the previous day.
Earlier, in an unprecedented move, Mr Hameed was taken into custody by army authorities and court martial proceedings were initiated against him on charges of corruption, misuse of office and violation of Pakistan Army Act.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)