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ISLAMABAD, June 11 (PTI) Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan is not against the military meddling in politics but is unhappy with the powerful establishment as it no longer supports him, according to a statement. A media report reported.
“Khan’s problems with the Pakistani army started last April when it announced that it would not engage in politics and would not take sides,” Bilawal told Qatar’s Al Jazeera news channel on Saturday.
Read also | Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto said Imran Khan was upset about losing the support of the army.
The Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman’s problem with the army is not that they are involved in politics; his problem with the army, he says, is that they are not involved in supporting him.
Bilawal said the role of the military in Pakistani politics cannot be denied. “More than half of our history has been covered by military rule. My party, the Pakistan People’s Party, has challenged every dictatorship in Pakistan’s history.”
Khan, however, supported every dictatorship in Pakistan, including the last one under former President General Pervez Musharraf, he said.
“Khan’s political history is that he has supported every dictator and every dictator in Pakistan’s history,” he said.
The foreign minister said it was well documented that the former cricketer-turned-politician came to power in 2018. “It is a given that he came to power through a rigged election in collusion with some former officers of the Pakistani army.”
Responding to a question about the military’s popularity after the May 9 incident, Bilawal said most people in the country want the military to remain depoliticized.
“In terms of the army’s popularity as an institution, PTI supporters may resent that the Pakistani army is not violating the constitution and supporting Khan,” he said.
Most Pakistanis, he said, were deeply offended by Khan’s actions on May 9 when he encouraged his supporters to attack army facilities.
“The Legion Commander’s House in Lahore, GHQ [General Headquarters] In Rawalpindi and many military installations [were targeted].Never in the history of Pakistan has such an attack been carried out by any political party and now those involved in the attack on our military installations have to face the consequences of the law of the land,” he added.
Bilawal said his party does not believe change can be achieved by attacking the military establishment, but by strengthening democracy.
“The only way for change is for democratic forces and civil institutions like parliament to take their place and play their role in Pakistani society,” he added.
Bilawal said Khan paid little attention to parliament during his tenure as prime minister.
“He left parliament when he should have been leader of the opposition. The fate of Pakistan cannot be decided in the streets. It has to be decided in parliament, the only way to strengthen democracy in Pakistan when civilians act. Their own space… This will keep the military out of politics,” he said.
The only person to blame for Khan’s downfall is Khan himself, he said. History will prove this to be the case, he said.
Bilawal also expressed his disappointment with the Afghan interim government, saying that Pakistan and the international community have high hopes for the new regime.
“While they have made some progress in some areas, there is still a long way to go in many others,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s position on Afghanistan is in line with that of the international community.
The foreign minister said the number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan had increased since the fall of Kabul in August 2021.
“You are absolutely right to point out that we face security threats from terrorist groups, especially the Taliban Movement in Pakistan (TTP).
Bilawal said he held talks with Iran’s foreign minister and three-way talks with China, Pakistan and Afghanistan. “The key message from these contacts is the need for specific action against terrorist groups,” he added.
Regarding the relationship between Pakistan and China, Bilawal said: “Over the years, we have actively engaged with China and established an all-weather strategic partnership.”
He said that through initiatives such as the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Pakistan has achieved significant development in energy infrastructure, communication infrastructure and port infrastructure.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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