ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that he would have fired the army chief if Kargil’s war with India had been started without informing him.
Nawaz Sharif, who was prime minister during the Kargil war, has long maintained that he was unaware of what was happening when the conflict broke out in 1999. He says the then army chief, General Pervez Musharraf, had attacked to Kargil without informing him.
“I would have fired the army chief if the Kargil operation had been carried out without informing me,” Khan said in an interview with the private news channel Samaa TV on Thursday.
Khan also said he would fire the head of Interservice Intelligence (ISI) if he asked him to resign. The comment was made in the context of three-time Prime Minister Sharif’s claim that he was asked by the ISI chief to resign in 2014 when Khan sparked a large protest in the national capital.
He said the army was holding the country together and criticized Sharif for targeting the military establishment.
“Look at Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen; the whole Muslim world is on fire [so] Why are we safe? If it weren’t for our military, our country would be in three parts, “Khan said.
Sharif recently made two speeches from London, where he has been staying since November 2019 for medical reasons, directly attacking the army for interference in politics and claimed that Khan came to power thanks to his support.
The powerful military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its more than 70 years of existence, has thus far wielded considerable power over security and foreign policy.
Khan also said that it was not the army’s job to run the government and that the failure of a democratically elected government should not be used to impose martial law.
“If a judge makes a wrong decision, it means that the judiciary has to evolve. The army has also evolved. Contemporary civil-military relations are the best in history because everyone is working in their spheres,” he said.
He also claimed that the military stood by the government’s side on all matters, including relations with India, the opening of the Kartarpur corridor, and the coronavirus pandemic.
Nawaz Sharif, who was prime minister during the Kargil war, has long maintained that he was unaware of what was happening when the conflict broke out in 1999. He says the then army chief, General Pervez Musharraf, had attacked to Kargil without informing him.
“I would have fired the army chief if the Kargil operation had been carried out without informing me,” Khan said in an interview with the private news channel Samaa TV on Thursday.
Khan also said he would fire the head of Interservice Intelligence (ISI) if he asked him to resign. The comment was made in the context of three-time Prime Minister Sharif’s claim that he was asked by the ISI chief to resign in 2014 when Khan sparked a large protest in the national capital.
He said the army was holding the country together and criticized Sharif for targeting the military establishment.
“Look at Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen; the whole Muslim world is on fire [so] Why are we safe? If it weren’t for our military, our country would be in three parts, “Khan said.
Sharif recently made two speeches from London, where he has been staying since November 2019 for medical reasons, directly attacking the army for interference in politics and claimed that Khan came to power thanks to his support.
The powerful military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its more than 70 years of existence, has thus far wielded considerable power over security and foreign policy.
Khan also said that it was not the army’s job to run the government and that the failure of a democratically elected government should not be used to impose martial law.
“If a judge makes a wrong decision, it means that the judiciary has to evolve. The army has also evolved. Contemporary civil-military relations are the best in history because everyone is working in their spheres,” he said.
He also claimed that the military stood by the government’s side on all matters, including relations with India, the opening of the Kartarpur corridor, and the coronavirus pandemic.
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