(MENAFN- Khaama Press)
FILE PHOTO: Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks during a joint news conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani (not pictured) at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan November 19, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said he no longer“blamed” the US administration had orchestrated his ouster, according to sources, withdrawing his persistent claim that Washington has had key role.
Ever since his removal from office through a vote of no confidence, the Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman has continuously exclaimed foreign conspiracy led to his ouster, saying the US administration was behind it.
Addressing multiple gatherings of party supporters via video link from his residence in Lahore, Khan trained his guns at the elder Sharif and said the latter was not going to the polls because he was afraid of defeat at the hands of PTI.
“It is a matter of grave concern for the whole Pakistani nation that a person convicted by the Supreme Court is poised to take decisions about the future of Pakistan that includes the appointment of a new army chief,” he said, as dawn quoted.
“Those installed through the 'regime change conspiracy' are running away from holding elections, knowing that they will lose [elections] against me and will not be able to save their corruption and looted money,” he claimed.
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Earlier, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met his older brother and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in London, according to sources, to discuss the appointment of the next army chief.
General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the current army chief often considered the most powerful position in the country, is due to retire on November 29, 2022.
Defense minister Asif Khawaja, who is traveling with the premier, confirmed the meeting of the Sharif brothers on a Pakistani TV channel on Thursday night.
“Everything will become clear in the coming few days,” he told Geo TV.
Meanwhile, General Bajwa is conducting farewell tours to different military garrisons of the country while the name of his successor remains uncertain.
Bajwa“advised troops to keep serving the nation with same zeal and commitment no matter what the circumstances”, according to a press release issued by the army on Thursday.
Imran Khan's Removal from Office In April, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran khan was ousted from power after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, where the opposition parties brought a motion against him for bad governance and economic mismanagement.
Khan has repeatedly claimed that Donald Lu, the Assistant Secretary for the US Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, had met with Pakistan's ambassador to Washington in March and told him that Khan should be dismissed from power in the confidence vote, as CNN wrote.
Lu threatened“Pakistan will suffer consequences” unless Khan was removed from power, he said on Monday interview, acknowledging his official visit to Russia in late February, coinciding with the day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, had likely rankled American officials.
When asked to provide evidence for his claims, Khan said there were note takers on both the US and Pakistani sides at the meeting, but did not answer directly when asked whether he would make any notes publicly available.
However, the US government has repeatedly denied involvement in Khan's ouster, saying the allegations are not true.
“There is no truth to these allegations,” a US State Department spokesperson told CNN, having previously and repeatedly denied involvement in Khan's ouster.
Sharif who is a long-time rival of Khan and brother of former three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would be able to hold power until October 2023, when the next election is due to be held.
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