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Pakistan Army chief seeks closer ties with US
Published: 3 Apr 2022 | 05:00 GMTThe general also departed from the embattled PM’s neutrality over the Russia-Ukraine conflict
The influential chief of the Pakistani Army, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, has said his country has an “excellent” relationship with the United States, and wants to expand it without damaging similarly important strategic ties with China.
“We have a history of long and excellent strategic relationship with the US, which remains our largest export market,” General Bajwa said at a security forum in Islamabad on Saturday. “Pakistan enjoys a close strategic relationship with China, demonstrated by our commitment towards the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor.
“We seek to broaden and expand our ties with both the countries without impacting our relationship with the other,” he said.
In his speech, the general notably departed from embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan’s position of neutrality over the Russia-Ukraine conflict. While acknowledging the “legitimate security concerns of Russia,” he insisted that Moscow's “aggression against a smaller country cannot be condoned.”
“Pakistan has consistently called for an immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities. We support immediate dialogue between all sides to find a lasting solution to the conflict,” he stated, adding that the “Russian invasion against Ukraine... is a huge tragedy that must be stopped immediately.”
Facing a no-confidence vote on Sunday after losing his parliamentary majority following multiple defections from his party, PM Khan repeatedly claimed in recent weeks that a “foreign-backed conspiracy” was behind the move to oust him, noting that it was being financially backed by millions of dollars in foreign money and “our people are being used.”
He suggested it was his refusal to join the US and NATO in condemning Russia’s military operation in Ukraine that had triggered the conspiracy.
Adding credibility to these allegations, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry claimed on Friday that the country’s security agencies had reported a plot to assassinate Khan, the second such claim this week. PTI leader Faisal Vawda had earlier claimed Khan’s refusal to “sell the country” was behind the bid to have him killed.
Pakistan has a long history of coups and has been under military rule for nearly half of the nation’s existence, with no Pakistani PM ever completing a full term. The prospect of Khan surviving a no-confidence vote are slim, as his supporters in parliament are outnumbered and he is said to be at odds with the influential top military brass.
On the eve of the vote, Khan called on his supporters to “peacefully protest” against the alleged “international conspiracy hatched by the US.” In response, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Shehbaz Sharif, who is slated to become the next PM, accused Khan of “trying to divide the nation and pushing the country towards a civil war.”
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If Pakistan Army is supposedly neutral, then why is Bajwa making haste for Washington DC? What is he so afraid of? Being the Chief of the Military of a country that is a Nuclear Power, who has an ally (China) as a Super Power, one would expect that Pakistan Military and the Government of Pakistan will be working in cohesion toward the betterment of the country.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan has publicly declared that a "foreign power" (undisclosed as who it is, but we all know it is America) is making moves (bribing traitors in govt & opposition) to oust him from power. Knowing this, why is the Chief of Pakistan Armed Forces running to Washington DC? What happen to Pakistan ka Matlab Kya, La ilaha illAllah Muhammad ur Rasoolallah? What happen to "there is no power on earth that could undo Pakistan?"
I have always favored the Military all my life, but now with what's going in Bajwa running to what looks like "his masters", casts an unignorable fact that certain elements within Pakistan Army want to be on the side of US-NATO. If such a case is found to be true about Pakistan Army, then this is defined as treason against the State, against it's democratically elected government and against the People of Pakistan
