Former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser stated that the PTI government’s decision to extend as ex-chief of the army staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa’s term in 2019 was the “wrong decision” and acknowledged that “we are contrite at our mistake.”
While talking to local media he stated, “Everyone in the party ranks believed that it was a mistake to offer him (Bajwa) an extension.”
Qaiser said when asked about the background conversations that led to the choice, “It was the incorrect decision, no matter why or how it was done.”
He did, however, clarify that extending the tenure of the then-army chief was a “joint decision” of all political parties. He claimed that political parties “had essentially turned into dynastic parties with no roots among the people.”
This revelation comes a week after Gen. Bajwa announced his retirement from the army after six years in charge. Gen. (retd) Bajwa also served as the custodian of the lower house of parliament during the PTI’s rule.
He was appointed as the COAS by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in November 2016 and then premier Imran Khan approved an extension in his tenure as COAS for another term in 2019.
