The Pakistan Army has failed to glorify itself and blame all the failures on former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The main reason for this is that General Qamar Javed Bajwa was responsible for the decision taken on the economic front. He had appointed serving and retired military officers to senior positions in various ministries and departments.
Imran Khan did not hide after losing the no-confidence motion. He has garnered renewed support among the urban middle class to take on the mighty America and the military. Imran Khan has emerged as a strong leader among the urban youth. According to Islam Khabar, the army is running a campaign against Imran Khan to save his reputation and influence.
Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan, however, has emerged as a leader among the youth to fight the battle recklessly. On the other hand the army has lost public confidence and seems to be trying to make up for the loss.
The army plans to carefully remove the old political leadership and replace them with new leaders. However, the situation remains difficult for the army as the new leaders also now face allegations of corruption and disqualification. Therefore, this plan of the army has largely failed. Former senior army officers have also come out in support of Imran Khan.
On April 8, a day after the Supreme Court’s decision, Lt-General (retd) Tariq Khan refused to head a commission set up by the federal cabinet to investigate allegations of an alleged “foreign conspiracy” against Imran Khan. Tariq Khan has since written articles supporting Imran Khan and blaming the army. Lt Gen Asad Durrani has also done the exact same thing.
The former PM has a lot of supporters among the top leadership. This is why the military isn’t sure whether it was a good idea to make their ‘boy enemies’. There is a strong feeling that Imran Khan should have been handled more subtly. The Army has recently made a hasty public announcement that General Bajwa’s service will not be extended.