Is the fear of coup troubling PM Imran Khan too, the chair was awarded only on the deadlock of the ISI chief

In Pakistan's media, these days the ongoing standoff between the army and the Imran government is in the headlines. There has been a long tug of war between Army Chief Bajwa and PM Imran Khan over the appointment of the head of the Pakistan Intelligence Agency. This pain of Imran was also shown in the interview given on one of his TV channels. He has expressed doubts that the opposition is making all efforts to remove him from power. In this sequence, he further said that the opposition is also blackmailing the army for this work. This statement of Imran is not just like that. Let us know what is the big reason behind Imran's suspicion.

Musharraf and Nawaz had a face-off over ISI chief

The tug of war between the elected government and the army is not new in Pakistan. It is a matter of note that in this tug-of-war, the army has always had the upper hand. 22 years ago, Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf overthrew the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The special thing is that even at that time there was a dispute between the two regarding the ISI chief. At that time Lt Gen Ziauddin Butt was the DG of ISI. He was very close to Nawaz. Before the military coup, Lieutenant Butt took over as DG ISI for a year.

The differences between Musharraf and Nawaz started over the appointment of the ISI chief. Nawaz had appointed Lt Gen Ziauddin Butt as DG ISI, as a result of which Musharraf was forced to appoint his former ISI close aide Lt Gen Aziz Khan as Chief of General Staff. Butt had come very close to PM Nawaz and used to accompany him not only in the country but also on foreign tours. The ISI chief was arrested in this incident.

Ali started a military revolt

After this standoff, in 1999, both the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Butt were arrested by Colonel Shaheed. This was the first time in the history of Pakistan that a serving ISI chief was arrested. Ali was the military officer in the Pakistan Army, who started the military revolt. At that time he was the commander of a battalion of a brigade in the Pakistan Army. At the time of the coup, Ali took control of the Prime Minister's House with his soldiers. Ali also received its award in the military rule of Pakistan.

Reason for controversy over the appointment of DG ISI in Pakistan

Musharraf took power as chief executive soon after the 1999 coup. He ordered an inquiry into the role of intelligence chiefs in the deteriorating relationship between the former coup's army chief and the prime minister. The investigation report revealed that the DG ISI was responsible for the deteriorating relations between the PM and the Army Chief. Musharraf got suspicious the day Nawaz made Butt the head of the ISI. Let us tell you that the appointment of DG ISI in the post-president General Zia has been a cause of dispute between the army chiefs and the then prime ministers.

Pak Constitution silent on ISI chief's appointment process

The root of this turmoil lies in the Constitution of Pakistan. Pakistan's law does not specify who will appoint the ISI chief. What will be its rules? What will be the process for this? There is no law regarding this, which should ensure who will make this appointment. The Prime Minister has been making appointments to the post of DG ISI under a normal process. However, the role of the Chief of the Army Staff in the selection of the DG ISI is not insignificant, as Army officers ultimately work with the Chief of Army Staff. It may be surprising that the issue of the appointment of the ISI chief is yet to be resolved.

Fear showed in Imran Khan's statement

Pro. Harsh V Pant says that even though this incident of Musharraf and Nawaz is two decades old, but Prime Minister Imran Khan must have fear somewhere in his mind. He said that this is the reason why Imran Khan is constantly praising Army Chief Bajwa. Imran has said many times that Bajwa is a very patient and settled person. He respects democracy. In this statement of Imran, there is less sympathy and more fear with his Bajwa. He knows that tug of war with the ISI chief does not bode well for him. Imran also knows that this controversy is not good for the democracy of Pakistan.