Regime change experiment “failed,” according to new military leadership, says Imran Khan.

Imran Khan, a former prime minister and the head of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), said that the new military leadership had recognised the “failure of the experiment of regime change.”

In an interview with the US station Voice of America, he said, “I’m sure within the new military leadership there is a realisation that this experiment of regime transition has gone badly.”

The PTI leader, who was removed from office by a vote of no-confidence in April of last year, emphasised that elected administrations must have power and responsibility, and that a nation’s “system crumbles if that is not the case.”

Khan said, “The fundamental tenet of the balance [of power] is that the elected government, which the people have mandated through their vote, has the duty, must also have the authority.

According to him, power and responsibility cannot be separated, and a system cannot function if “both things are vested in the same man.”

No management system is effective if the prime minister is responsible but the army commander has the power.

The PTI leader claimed that all of the military’s policies in Pakistan are decided by one person in response to a query about his connection with the military in his capacity as prime minister.

“In Pakistan, the term “military” refers to the army leader. Therefore, one man’s mentality determines the military’s whole strategy for interacting with the civilian administration.”

The former prime minister continued by saying that having the “organised power of the Pakistan Army to aid us” was a benefit of his connection with General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the then-army leader.

He said that Pakistan’s effective reaction to COVID-19 was evidence of the influence of this connection.

“Gen Bajwa preferred the greatest thieves,”
Imran Khan said that the “crisis” started when Gen. Bajwa “favoured some of the worst fraudsters in our nation.”

He said that the previous army commander wanted his administration to ignore the “largest issue” and collaborate with the corrupt officials, “offering them protection from their corruption charges,” in order to cover up their misconduct.

Khan said that Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister, and the previous COAS had a strong relationship and “conspired” to bring about the “regime change.”

The deposed PM claims that Pakistan is experiencing the biggest political and economic crisis in its history and that the economy has collapsed.

The PTI leader expressed his thoughts on his desire for general elections and said that holding “free and fair elections is not feasible anymore” since the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has lost its reputation as an impartial electoral authority.

“In Sindh, there was a local government election that was denounced by all the major parties.”

“Pakistan will inevitably have good relations with Afghanistan.”
Imran Khan said that strong relations with Afghanistan, regardless of the current administration in the neighbouring nation, are “inevitable for Pakistan” while discussing the two countries’ bilateral relationships.

“Whatever government in Afghanistan is, Pakistan must have a good relationship with them,” he said, adding that he made every effort as Pakistan’s prime minister to maintain good ties with the Ashraf Ghani-led administration in order to secure Kabul’s cooperation in combating terrorism.

When asked about the incumbent government’s failure to enlist Afghanistan’s help in combating the country’s rising terrorism, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari responded that it was troubling that he had spent almost all of his time outside of Pakistan but hadn’t made a single trip to Afghanistan.

He stated that Pakistan “is not in a position to wage another war on terror.”