Nawaz Sharif was sacked by the Pakistan Supreme Court in 2017 on corruption charges. (File)
Gujranwala / Lahore:
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday accused Army Chief General Kamar Javed Bajwa of undermining his government, putting pressure on the judiciary and setting up the current government of Prime Minister Imran Khan in the 2018 elections. Are applying
Mr Sharif was addressing a rally of millions of people in Gujranwala, east of London, to launch a nationwide protest campaign via a video link from London.
Sharif told the gathering, “General Kamar Javed Bajwa, you supported our government, which was working well, and took the country and the country to the place of your aspirations,” Sharif told the gathering. The largest since the election.
The former prime minister also accused the head of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of plotting against his government.
Last month, the nine major opposition parties formed a joint platform called the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to launch a nationwide agitation against the government.
Sharif, whose main opposition is the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), was sacked by the Supreme Court in 2017 on corruption charges and left for London last November for medical treatment.
He holds the generals and judges accountable for what he says were sharp allegations.
Pakistan’s powerful military refuses to interfere in politics. The military’s public relations wing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sharif’s daughter and political heir Maryam Nawaz and Bilawal Bhutto, son of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the leader of her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), also addressed the gathering.
Both criticized the Khan government for what they called poor governance and economic management.
The protest comes at a time when Pakistan is facing an economic crisis, with inflation hitting double digits and negative growth.
Speakers at the meeting demanded Khan’s resignation and an end to military interference in politics.
The next general election is for 2023.
“Go Imran, go. Your time is up!” Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered at Gujranwala Stadium.
Khan, who came to power on an anti-corruption platform and denies that the army helped him win, said on Friday that he was not afraid of the opposition’s campaign, which aimed to oust his leaders. It was to blackmail corruption cases against him.
(Except for the headline, this story is not edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
