Sheikh Rasheed commented on the absence of PM Imran Khan from a meeting hosted by General Qamar Javed Bajwa on the Gilgit-Baltistan issue, implied that the PM might not have been invited to the meeting.
In a TV show hosted by journalist Gharidah Farooqi, the lawmaker said Imran Khan is the prime minister; it was up to him if he wanted to join the meeting or not. “Or maybe he was not invited by the army chief,” Rasheed went on to add while responding to a question by Farooqi on the absence of the PM from the meeting.
Just a day after the opposition’s APC when they announced the formation of Pakistan Democratic Alliance against the government and called for an end to the interference of the military establishment in politics, reports about a ‘secret’ meeting of parliamentary leaders with the army leadership emerged.
According to ARY News, the senior leadership of the army ‘made it clear that it has no role in the country’s political matters, election reforms, and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)’ as often alleged by the opposition leaders.
It came forth that opposition members met Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director-General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed.
The reports raised many questions, considering that opposition parties had taken a strong position against the military’s role in politics just a day earlier.
This could be a ‘routine’ meeting, as lawmakers often meet the military top brass to discuss the issues that pertain to the national security, but the secrecy that shrouded it till the word came out has given rise to speculations.
