- Senator says Raheel Sharif asked for extension more than once.
- He said he also suggested expanding the services of three other chiefs.
- Siddiqui reveals that Nawaz Sharif refused to accept Raheel's offer.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Irfan Siddiqui has revealed that former Chief of Army Staff General (retd) Raheel Sharif had asked then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for an extension of his tenure in return for help in the Panama Papers case. News reported.
“It is no longer a secret that General Raheel Sharif used to ask for an extension. He had asked for it more than once,” Senator Siddiqui said while speaking during the meeting. Geo news Saturday Jirga Program.
The senator recalled that a meeting was held in Raiwind a couple of days after the funeral of social worker Abdul Sattar Edhi.
“One of our senior leaders said that Raheel Sharif had given him a message: 'you are delaying the extension of my tenure',” the senator said, adding that Nawaz had proposed him the post of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Siddiqui said the former army chief also suggested extending the services of three other chiefs so that he was not singled out as an isolated case. “The second suggestion was that he should be promoted to field marshal and with that his tenure as army chief would also be extended. However, Nawaz Sharif did not accept his suggestions,” he added.
The senator said Raheel Sharif had made another offer to Nawaz, asking him to resolve the extension issue and he would be given relief in the Panama Leaks case.
“To this, Nawaz Sharif said that it was a bigger humiliation than being punished in the Panama case. And after that, he also received threats of martial law,” the PML-N leader added.
Speaking about relations with former Army Chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, Siddiqui said problems had also deteriorated with him in the same way they had worsened with Raheel Sharif in a couple of months.
“General (retd) Bajwa had inherited Panama and Dawn Leaks, whether he wanted to or not, but the environment was exactly the same as what Raheel Sharif had left behind. Only the army chief was changed, the rest remained in their posts. However, if General (retd) Bajwa had wanted to, he could have arrested everyone, but he did not and chose an easy path for himself,” he said.
Responding to a question, Senator Siddiqui said Nawaz Sharif had not disappeared from politics. “Pakistan is ruled by his party and the largest province is also ruled by him. He has been there as the supreme leader and decision-maker,” he added.
Responding to a question on conspiracy theories that Nawaz will not become prime minister, Siddiqui said it was his own decision and was not taken considering the election results.
“He never said categorically that he would not become prime minister, but in my opinion he thought that he had become prime minister three times and let Shehbaz Sharif go ahead,” he said.
He dismissed conspiracy theories against Nawaz Sharif floated by his brother and others and said that even the establishment was not against him being the prime minister. “Shehbaz Sharif was offered the post of prime minister several times in the past but he never betrayed his brother,” he concluded.
