In a project to eliminate PMLN supremo Nawaz Sharif from mainstream politics and bring forward Imran Khan, Lt Gen (r) Amir Riaz, Gen (r) Nadeem Raza, Lt Gen (r) Amir Abbasi, Lt Gen (r) Hamayun Aziz, Lt Gen (r) Abdullah Dogar, Lt Gen (r) Bilal Akbar, and Lt Gen Asif Ghafoor also played key roles, along with former army chief General (r) Qamar Javed Bajwa, and former ISI chief Lt Gen (r) Faiz Hameed, claims journalist Asad Ali Toor.
In a recent v-log on his Youtube channel, Toor said that between 2010 and 2012, the army was working on the project of removing Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari from politics. Then-DG ISI General Pasha and later then-DG ISI General Zaheer ul-Islam were behind the sit-ins staged by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 2014 and its successful public rallies and gatherings held in 2011. But despite all this, both Nawaz and Zardari were strong enough to survive and remain popular among the masses.
He said that there were speculations among the army officers that since Gen (r) Bajwa was elevated to the post of army chief by then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, he would be more loyal to him.
To justify his claim, the journalist shared an incident from the time when Gen (r) Bajwa was not an army chief and he was addressing the ceremony at Kakul Academy. According to the journalist, while responding to a question regarding the corruption of politicians, Gen (r) Bajwa said that the army is equally responsible as it imposed martial law three times and ruled the country for over 40 years.
Later, when Gen (r) Bajwa became the army chief, the army decided to make him realize that politicians, specifically Sharif and the Zardari family, were doing corruption at a mass level and that there was a need to take some steps to curb it, he added.
The journalist claimed that when Gen (r) Bajwa became the army chief, the ISI and Military Intelligence (MI) assigned tasks to their 4-5 officers to remind the army chief regarding the corruption and malpractices of politicians in every meeting.
After attending a couple of meetings, it became clear to Gen (r) Bajwa that his institution thinks differently from him and that it might be the institution that is right, as the majority was of the same view, Asad Ali Toor claimed.
Then, when the Panama case surfaced in 2016, the ISI arranged briefings for then-army chief Gen (r) Bajwa, in which he was apprised in detail about corruption and financial malpractices and scams of politicians, he stated.
He claimed that one day, while presiding over a meeting of corps commanders, Gen (r) Bajwa was told by the corps commanders that this was a time to nab Nawaz Sharif, and Gen (r) Bajwa agreed with them.
Asad Toor claimed that the mission to declare Nawaz Sharif disqualified was assigned to Lt Gen (r) Faiz Hameed, who was the DGC ISI at that time and his rank was Major General. Gen (r) Naveed Mukhtar was the DG ISI at that time, and he was the brother of Mian Munir, a relative of Nawaz Sharif. Therefore, he was asked to stay aside, and let the army execute the whole project to disqualify Nawaz.
In the 2018 general elections, then-corps commander Quetta Lt Gen (r) Amir Riaz was appointed as the corps commander Lahore to manage elections in Punjab, especially in Lahore. The journalist claimed that he executed the task efficiently, even though he made his maternal uncle win in the polls.
He claimed that then-corps commander Quetta Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa was highly active against Nawaz and Zardari. He formed the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and managed elections in Quetta and Balochistan.
The journalist claimed that the then-chairman joint chiefs of staff committee Gen (r) Nadeem Raza also played a key role in the minus-Nawaz project.
He further claimed that then-corps commander Karachi Lt Gen (r) Hamayun Aziz managed elections in Karachi and Sindh.
Asad Ali Toor claimed that Lt Gen Asif Ghafoor, who was the major general at the time, was at the forefront of efforts to eliminate Nawaz from mainstream politics. The journalist said that Lt Gen Asif Ghafoor used to say that the country will flourish steadily during Imran Khan’s tenure as Nawaz is out. He even declared that era a ‘year of change’ and asked the mainstream media to broadcast positive news for six months.
He claimed that Lt Gen (r) Bilal Akbar was also active against Nawaz and Zardari and restrained the popularity and influence of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
The journalist claimed that then-corps commander Multan Lt Gen (r) Abdullah Dogar clipped the wings of the PMLN in South Punjab, adding that he forced the PMLN MPAs to contest elections as an independent candidates. He claimed that he was behind the manhandling of PMLN MPAs by officials of the ‘agriculture department’.
Asad claimed that then-corps commander Gujranwala Lt Gen (r) Amir Abbasi was deeply involved in supporting Imran Khan but he failed to deliver on GT Road and the PMLN grabbed the majority in elections. Later, while giving an excuse for his failure in a meeting, he said ISI was responsible for managing elections; therefore, he was not responsible for his failure in delivery.