Khawaja Asif claims pressure from ex-COAS Bajwa’s father-in-law to condemn Nawaz Sharif's speech

Defense Minister Khawaja Asif claimed he was imprisoned for six months during Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf govt tenure for refusing to condemn Nawaz Sharif’s Gujranwala.

Speaking about previously undisclosed political pressure, Khawaja Asif shared that during the tenure of the PTI founder, the father-in-law of ex-COAS General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa summoned him to his home.

“I was taken to the basement and told that Nawaz Sharif had mentioned both General Bajwa and General Faiz in his Gujranwala address and was asked to publicly condemn the speech and distance himself from it.”

The defense minister added that Qamar Javed Bajwa’s father-in-law had said that he would not comply with his demands, to which he was warned that if he didn’t cooperate, NAB cases would be initiated against him.

Khwaja Asif stated that Rana Tanveer was a witness to the incident.

Moving further, Khawaja Asif said after few days of denial to the Qamar Javed Bajwa’s father-in-law, he was suddenly arrested and remained in jail for six months.

Despite their efforts, the government couldn’t establish a NAB case against me, and the court eventually ordered my release, he added.

Earlier, Khawaja Asif questioned the rationale behind the decision of then prime minister Imran Khan, army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and ISI chief Faiz Hameed during the PTI tenure to settle the Taliban elements in Pakistan.

Talking to the media persons at the Parliament House, the defence minister said that terrorism was a global issue that must be tackled collectively, and stressed that Pakistan was the front line state in the war against terrorism.