Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that deposed prime minister Imran Khan is not against the army’s interference in politics but is upset with the powerful establishment only because it is no longer supporting him, according to a media report.
“Khan’s problem with the Pakistan Army began in April of last year when it declared that it would not get involved in politics and would not take sides,” Bilawal told Qatar-based Al Jazeera news channel on Saturday.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman’s issue with the army is not that they’re involved in politics; his problem with the army is they’re not getting involved to support him, he said.
Bilawal said that the role of the army in Pakistan’s politics cannot be denied. “More than half of our history has been covered by military rule. My party, the Pakistan Peoples Party, has challenged each and every single dictatorship in Pakistan’s history.”
He said Khan, however, supported every dictatorship in Pakistan, including the last dictatorship of former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf.
“Khan’s political history is that he has supported every dictator and he supported every autocrat in Pakistan’s history,” he said.
The foreign minister said that former-cricketer-turned politician’s rise to power in 2018 is well-documented. “It is an established fact that he was brought into power through a rigged election in collaboration with some former officers of the Pakistan Army.”
Responding to a question about the army’s popularity after May 9 events, Bilawal said the majority of the people of the country want the army to remain apolitical.
“As far as the army’s popularity as an institution is concerned, the PTI supporters may be upset with the Pakistan Army for not violating the Constitution and supporting Khan,” he said. He said the majority of Pakistanis are deeply offended by the actions that took place on May 9 where Khan encouraged his supporters to attack army installations.