PTI’S confrontation with army was a mistake: Rashid

ISLAMABAD: Sheikh Rashid, a key ally of jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, has claimed, resurfacing ater 40 days’ mysterious disappearance that the biggest mistake of the former prime minister was trying to block selection of Gen Syed Asim Munir as the chief of the army staff.

“I had suggested to the PTI that they should not engage in a dispute with the military establishment,” Rashid said in an interview to a TV channel that was conducted on his request to the anchor.

He said he had requested Imran to include him in the parleys with the army, but the former prime minister refused. “The PTI chairman is a stubborn politician,” he said and admited that messing with Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir was their mistake.

Rashid sought a pardon for common people involved in the May 9 violence allegedly perpetrated by the PTI on key military installations. He said he would speak for the ordinary accused. “I would request that they should be pardoned once.”

He said that followers of the PTI chairman believe that they had supporters inside the army.

“Twiter drowned me. I was shown that I have said these things,” Rashid said, adding that he did not run the account on the microblogging site but all of the statements were his own.

He said that nothing came out against him [during his disappearance] except the tweets.

The other day, the Lahore High Court (LHC) gave the police time till Oct.26 to recover Rashid, whose whereabouts had not been traced since his apparent arrest last month.

Rashid was arrested from Rawalpindi on Sept.17, his counsel Sardar Abdul Razaq claimed the same day. The former interior minister claimed that he had been on a “chilla” for the last 40 days.

While referring to his politician nephew, he said Rashid Shafique was like his son.

“I couldn’t tell Shafique [about the chilla] that’s why he might have goten worried,” Rashid said. He said that these 40 days were spent well and nobody treated him harshly, and added that he had the opportunity to reflect on many things during the chilla.

“Even today, I stand with the army. I suggested to the PTI chairman as well that one should keep good terms with the army,” Rashid said.

Talking about the May 9 mayhem, the former federal minister said that he was outside the country during the incidents of violence that followed Imran’s arrest.

Rashid said that no politician should take the names of any army officer, adding that all the three people who were holding talks with the army for the PTI chief had made their own party.