Former Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has called for immediate elections and claimed that the army chief threatened martial law. Zardari, who is part of the Pakistan People’s Party, said that all political parties should sit together and agree to hold general elections across the country. During an interview on Geo News’ Capital Talk, Zardari also revealed that retired chief of the army staff of Pakistan, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, threatened to impose martial law last April if a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan was not withdrawn.
Zardari said that when Bajwa hinted at imposing martial law in the country, he replied, “Bismillah” and asked him to go ahead. However, Bajwa stepped back after Zardari told him that it’s easy to ride a lion but hard to get down and welcomed Bajwa to take over. Bajwa also told Zardari that he would ask Imran Khan to resign and urged Zardari to go to the election phase. He added that he and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) chief Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman both rejected the offer.
Zardari said that he understood from Bajwa’s body language that a martial law could be imposed soon. He accused Imran Khan of corruption and warned that even if the former prime minister was expelled, his supporters continue to exist in different levels of the government.
The PPP’s head warned that the party will not allow anyone to tamper with the Constitution and said the party is not afraid of elections and wants it to be held in accordance with the Constitution. He pointed out that PPP has fought to restore democracy and said his party gave blood for the country and would continue to do so to realise the dream of founder Zulfikar Bhutto.
In conclusion, Zardari alleged that General Bajwa threatened martial law if a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan was not withdrawn, and he called for immediate elections.
