Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa have clashed over the appointment of the chief of Pakistan's infamous intelligence agency ISI. If there is any biggest issue in the media of the country these days, it is the appointment of the ISI chief. Army Chief Bajwa replaced the current chief of ISI, General Faiz Hameed, as the commander of Peshawar Corps. Imran is deeply upset by this because constitutionally he has the right to transfer or appointment.
According to media reports, Bajwa sent a panel of three names to the Prime Minister, finding a middle ground, so that the conflict did not escalate. Imran added a condition to it that he would interview all three candidates. General Nadeem Anjum is also among the three names in the panel, whom Bajwa wants to make as the ISI chief.
The current Chief of ISI is General Faiz Hameed. It is believed that Imran is called the selected prime minister instead of elected because of this general Faiz. It is said that Faiz heavily rigged the 2018 elections and got Imran made the Wazir-e-Azam. Initially, Imran gave General Bajwa an extension of three years, and Faiz was left behind. After the extension, Army Chief Bajwa is retiring in October next year. Imran wants General Faiz to become the next chief and before that he should remain the ISI supremo. Bajwa does not agree with this. They want to hand over the command of ISI to General Anjum. This is the real reason for the tension. However, there are or maybe other reasons.
In different media reports from Pakistan, it is being claimed that if there is no reconciliation between Imra,n and the Army Chief, then this month Pakistan may also get a new Prime Minister in the form of Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Imran will try to make himself a martyr at the hands of the army so that he can garner public sympathy. However, it is not easy at all. Anyway, most of the ministers of the Imran government are considered puppets in the hands of the army.
Whatever be the government in Pakistan, the command behind the scenes is in the hands of the army. The one who tries to screw it up faces the same fate as Nawaz Sharif, Benazir Bhutto, or Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Imran may have been made prime minister by the army, but they are ready to bow down to him in view of the elections to be held after a year and a half. are not ready.
General Bajwa wants to make his own ISI chief and Imran is not ready to remove General Faiz Hameed. Bajwa tried to find a middle ground. A panel of three names was sent to Imran. According to media reports, Imran is adamant on the insistence that he will interview the three generals. This has never happened before in Pakistani history.
9 days ago, the army issued a statement announcing the replacement of General Faiz as General Nadeem as the ISI chief. Imran has not yet signed this notification. His Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary is holding daily press conferences claiming that there is no dispute. His words are not being digested by the people. The market of speculation is hot that Imran is now a guest on this chair for a few days.
If this deadlock does not end in the coming days, then there are two options. First – elections should be conducted ahead of time. Second- someone else should be made prime minister for the rest of the term.
