Imran Khan’s ex wife Reham.

Bajwa to remain Pak Army Chief for another three years

Reham slams ex-husband Imran; talks of 'deal' on Kashmir with Modi

Agency Report | Islamabad | 19 August, 2019 | 11:30 PM

Pakistan Army Chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa’s term has been extended by three years citing the “regional security environment”.

Even before the official announcement, Bajwa’s continuation in office was seen as a foregone conclusion as in Pakistan, the army chief decides the duration of his own term even though the order for the extension of his term was signed by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Bajwa, who became the Army chief on November 29, 2016, did not want to leave office at a time when Islamabad’s relations with India are at the lowest ebb and the US is preparing to leave Afghanistan, throwing open a new chapter in the region’s geopolitics.

He could not have left the office as the Bajwa doctrine giving greater powers to the provinces is still at play.

In terms of the internal political situation in Pakistan, Bajwa is said to be in total command as he played a key role in getting Imran Khan elected as the Prime Minister. A constant criticism thrown at Imran Khan is that he is selected, not elected.

The previous political dispensations had uneasy relations with Rawalpindi generals. Nawaz Sharif, during his tenures as Prime Minister, changed the army chiefs around half a dozen times.

Apart from handling the internal situation in the country, Bajwa is playing a direct role in driving foreign policy. He was in the US with Imran Khan on the crucial visit last month and is said to be the key man for Washington in its plans to exit Afghanistan.
Alleging “a deal” on Kashmir, Reham Khan, former wife of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, has slammed his lack of decisiveness and attempts to please Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as reasons for the recent developments in the state.

“I would say that Kashmir ka sauda ho gaya hai (Kashmir has been sold off). We were taught from the beginning that ‘Kashmir Banega Pakistan’,” she said in the interview that has gone viral on the social media.

According to Reham, the day (August 5) the Kashmir announcement was made, one of her team members called her up to say, ‘Ma’am what you said is coming true’. “I told him please pray that it does not come true,” she said.

“What did I tell you in August last year, what the deal would be on Kashmir?”

“Modi did what he had to do; he did what he had come with a mandate to do, to revoke Article 370.

“But your PM Imran Khan, the day he was to give a policy statement (on Kashmir), he got up to say, ‘I knew he (Modi) was going to do this’; we also knew he (Modi) was going to do this. Imran said ‘I knew this when I met him in Bishkek and he was rude to me’, I knew this when Pulwama happened’.

“When you knew this was going to happen, then why did you extend the hand of friendship (to Modi)? And why were you giving him missed calls?”

“And when you knew all this and did nothing, then it means that you are incapable of doing anything, or you are very weak,” she said.