Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Qaiser on Sunday acknowledged the party’s “mistake” in granting an extension to former Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa (ret.) and tendered an apology to the nation for the decision.
Vowing to never repeat the same mistake, the former National Assembly speaker claimed the country is currently under “practical martial law.” In this scenario, he alleged, all decisions resulted from institutional pressure rather than merit. He reiterated the party’s claims of verdicts in cases concerning political prisoners resulting from external influence.
On a potential 27th Constitutional Amendment—repeatedly denied by the government—Qaiser said the PTI would resist it at all forums and push for a lawyers’ movement against it.
Leaders of opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Aain Pakistan (TTAP) flanked the PTI leader. Alliance chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai said no civilian or military official should ever receive a service extension. He said the alliance would not indulge in personal attacks and would focus on constitutional protection. Political differences, he said, should not undermine democratic principles. He claimed it was unfair to deny PTI founder Imran Khan visits with his party leadership, claiming PMLN chief Nawaz Sharif did not face any such issues during his incarceration.
Achakzai reiterated the call for a new “charter of democracy,” adding all political parties of the country should sign it.
Former Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair, meanwhile, claimed the country was in the midst of a deepening economic crisis. He also alleged there was no “threat of default” and the government had “falsely” claimed otherwise.