PTI leader and former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry categorically admitted that the previous government had strained relations with the Establishment.
A clip of Fawad Chaudhry making the stark revelations during an interview with a private media channel is going viral on social media. During the interview, Fawad Chaudhry said the PTI government was ousted as its ties with the establishment were “strained”.
“Had our [relationship] with the establishment been good, then we would have still been in the government,” Fawad Chaudhry said.
Nevertheless, he said his party made a lot of efforts to heal the rift. He also added that the former premier never thought about appointing Lt. Gen Faiz Hameed as the army chief.
Read more: Can Faiz Hameed be next Army Chief of Pakistan?
The truth about why IK is no longer in power finally comes out pic.twitter.com/0dNseXRebf
— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) April 21, 2022
Interestingly, Fawad Chaudhry’s statement came minutes after the ousted prime minister said in his virtual address to his party workers and supporters not to say anything bad about the armed forces of Pakistan.
“Never ever speak against the army. If we didn’t have the army, we wouldn’t have survived,” he said.
Army more important than me: Imran Khan
Furthermore, in his live Twitter session, Imran Khan expressed support for the Army. He clarified that his political party has never talked against the armed forces but strengthened them.
“Army is more important for this country than Imran Khan,” Imran Khn said. He added that enemies of Pakistan were attacking the army and both Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari undermined the army when in power.
Do not speak against the Pakistan army – Imran Khan pic.twitter.com/3IpHCYZ675
— Siasat.pk (@siasatpk) April 20, 2022
Important to note, ever since Imran Khan’s ouster as the prime minister, there have been anti-Bajwa and anti-judge trends on social media, forcing the Army chief and the chief justice of Pakistan to condemn the smear campaign.
DG ISPR Major Babur Iftikhar had to hold a press conference to condemn the propaganda campaign by some quarters to malign the Pakistan Army.
Read more: DG ISPR sets the record straight on Pakistan’s key issues