- Senator Vawda says PTI founder next in accountability.
- Adds ex-COAS Bajwa showed “negligence, incompetence”.
- Asif says further cases may be filed against former ISI chief.
Senator Faisal Vawda claimed on Thursday that the court-martial’s former ISI chief Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hamid would testify against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, compounding legal problems for the latter.
Vawda, a former PTI leader, made the allegations while speaking further Pakinomist news program “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath”, said Hamid will also present evidence against the jailed former prime minister.
The Field General Court Martial (FGCM) sentenced the former top spy to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment earlier today “on four charges related to participation in political activities, violation of the Official Secrets Act,” according to Inter-Services Public Relations.
He insisted that the PTI founder appeared to be “caught in the legal bind” as a result of the May 9 proceedings and warned that the process would intensify.
The events of May 9 refer to the 2023 riots triggered by the arrest of the PTI founder from Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises in a graft case.
During the protests, the miscreants targeted the civilian and military installations, including the Corps Commander’s House in Lahore and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.
“The grip of the law will not stop here,” he noted, adding that Hamid’s 14-year sentence “will not be reduced”.
Vawda further claimed that providing details of military installations prior to the May 9 events “was Faiz Hamid’s responsibility”.
“When the matter is clear, the first issue is PTI and its founder,” he said.
Discussing the role of former army chief Gen retired Qamar Javed Bajwa, Vawda said Bajwa had shown “negligence and incompetence” but later tried to remove Hamid after realizing the implications.
However, he said Bajwa had been deemed “exonerated”, meaning “there will be no action against him”.
In the same programme, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif claimed that the May 9 events were a “joint plan” involving the former ISI chief and the PTI founder.
He claimed that the violence was aimed at “overturning the appointment of Field Marshal Asim Munir”.
Asif said the PTI founder “could not have completed the May 9 [riots] alone”, and claimed that Hamid had retained influence even after retirement. He added that further cases could still be filed against him.
The minister claimed that the civilian authority to appoint the army chief had never been challenged before, but insisted that former army chief Bajwa had used pressure and issued threats to block the appointment of Munir.
He further alleged that Bajwa initially pushed for Hamid to become the army chief and later suggested other names to change the process.
