Amid the looming no-confidence motion against his government, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan met Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday.
The meeting is being speculated to have revolved around the recent political developments in the country, with the local media reporting that the agenda of the meeting could have revolved around the upcoming Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) summit in Pakistan, the ongoing unrest in Balochistan and the upcoming no-confidence motion against Imran Khan.
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“The majority of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders are waiting for the outcome of this meeting, the result of this meeting will be important amidst the ongoing political developments in the country,” Capital TV, a Pakistani media channel reported.
The meeting is also being seen as an attempt by Imran Khan to get back in the good books of the Pakistani establishment, which is the Pakistani Army, and thereby, save his government.
The fissures between Imran Khan and the Army establishment became visible when the former in his profanity-laced speech on March 11, had rebuffed Army Chief Bajwa’s advice to not use derogatory remarks against Opposition leaders.
“I was just talking to Gen Bajwa (Chief of Pakistani Army) and he told me not to refer to Fazl as ‘diesel’. But I am not the one who is saying that. The people have named him diesel,” Khan reportedly said referring to JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
Meanwhile, 25 lawmakers from Imran Khan’s ruling PTI took refuge in the Sindh House in Islamabad, and are widely believed to be rebelling against Khan.
Pakistan media reported on Friday that PTI workers broke the gate of the Sindh House and entered the building. The police arrested PTI’s Faheem Khan and Attaullah Niazi who were leading the group in the Sindh House. Some workers who were part of the mob have also been arrested.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz wrote on Twitter that the federal government should “go home” if it has any sense of shame left.
“God willing, you will not be able to save the government, but if you have any sense of shame left in you, then go home,” she tweeted.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders also jumped in to condemn the incident. They said that their party workers will have no option but to surround the PTI leaders’ house as an act of retaliation.