Share:

ISLAMABAD - Interior Minister Ijaz Ahmed Shah said on Monday that then Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was behind the corruption reference against then Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in May 2007.

In his first-ever TV interview, the former intelligence czar narrated his version of the events that took place in a meeting of then President Musharraf with former CJ on May 9, 2007. “Musharraf had forced Chauhdry to resign in the meeting,” he said.

He continued: “It was General (r) Kayani and the ISI that had made that reference against the former CJ,” he said, adding that nobody was disrespectful to Chaudhry in the meeting, which had taken place at the Army House, but all tried to convince him to do that. Musharraf had not done any wrong by removing Chaudhry.”

About the question whether Kayani was behind the lawyers movement to destabilise the Musharraf government, he said that he had no evidence of that.

“This is a very big allegation. Chaudhry was less of a judge and more of a politician. The former CJ himself had sought time for the meeting. Musharraf in the meeting first told him about the corruption reference against him and gave him two options, either to resign or face a reference in the Supreme Judicial Council. The former CJ heard all this and finally told him that he was not going to resign. Before this in a meeting, I had requested Musharraf not to do this as he was not going to resign.”

Replying to the allegations he had been facing in the past, Shah said: “it was very unfortunate that people in Pakistan were brave enough to level allegations against one another. I am not the only victim.”

About how long he had relations with Musharraf and under what circumstances he was made COAS, he said: “I was a major and he was Lt-Colonel and was instructor when I did my staff college course. Musharraf was a leader and it is a fact.”

He admitted that he was the one who first told Musharraf that he was being elevated as CAOS.

“I phoned him and told him about the good news. My relations with him were before that and because of the reason I told him.”

Regarding allegations of former COAS and ex-DG of ISI General (r) Ziauddin Butt against him that Brigadier Ijaz stabbed him in the back and spied for Musharraf against him and betrayed him as DG ISI, he said: “I wish I would have done it. I can just say that had I done this, he would not have been made COAS on October 12, 1999.”

He said that the misunderstanding between then PM Nawaz Sharif and then COAS Musharraf had started from the day one.

“Sharif in the first day of his office asked the COAS to fire these three officers who has been writing against him to former COAS General (r) Karamat and Musharraf avoided. Second main reason of bad relations was the appointment of DG ISI as Musharraf wanted that General (r) Aziz be made DG ISI. Sharif wanted to appoint Butt as both were on board from the day first. When Musharraf assumed charge as COAS, he had nothing against General Butt as the former said to the latter “you will serve. I am a witness to it.”

To a question whether Nawaz Sharif was arrogant, he said: “It was not only Musharraf with whom he had not good terms. Nawaz is not arrogant at all. he is humble and modest. As long as COAS is concerned, everybody is failed to understand why he picked up fight with every COAS whom he had appointed. I had no role in the October 12 military coup but it was just because of Mian Sahib.”

He rejected the allegation of slapping Nawaz following his arrest after the coup.

“This was absolutely wrong.”

He also rejected the allegations of rigging the 2002 elections and causing defections in the PPP and forming PPP-Patriots.

“If you do not want to defect, I say how you could be forced to defect.”

About his role in formation of PML-Q, he said he was in-charge of the election cell at that time and had a management role.

He alleged that then General Hussain Mehdi was behind the making of PPP-Patriots.

“I challenge that any politician from the PML-N and the PPP to say that I misbehaved with any one or used force to bring him/her to PML-Q. People at that time had joined PML-Q because the PML-N and the PPP leadership was in exile.”

About his statement that he would use violence against people who would protest, he said he made this in his hometown as a joke three days before he was made interior minister.

“But I never rebutted this news because people enjoyed with this statement.”

About using of an iron hand against PML-N leaders Khawaja Saad Rafique and Javed Hashmi after the coup as former home secretary, he denied that Hashmi was beaten after his arrest in case of publication of a pamphlet against the army.

“I have helped everybody across the board.”

The minister admitted that as the home secretary of Punjab, he had given report that PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari was not involved in narcotics case in Bhawalpur. Because, according to my investigation, he had no role.

About the allegation that Zardari got killed PPP leader Murtaza Bhutto, he said: “I was a young major at that time and had no knowledge of it.”

About his alleged links with banned outfits and that he had told Musharraf in a meeting that people of banned Sipah-e-Sihaba were his own people, he said: “Azam Tariq of SSP was elected MNA and had voted for the government. The whole world had been supporting banned outfits at that time. He denied having links with such organisations.

Regarding the allegation for his role in murder of former PM and PPP leader Benazir Bhutto, he said this was only a political allegation. I never met Ms Bhutto. “You know that all (politicians) had come (in country) after striking a deal with Musharraf.

“When this thing was happening, I was DG IB, the discussion was going on that PPP and PML-Q should be together in the next government and I had opposed saying that this is an unnatural alliance.”

“Ms Bhutto mentioned my name among the three persons as her suspected killers because she probably thought that I was the one who opposed her deal with Pervez Musharraf.”

Musharraf thought that liberal parties like PPP and ANP should come on the forefront. At the end, I disagreed that this arrangement of PPP and PML-Q will no longer be successful, he said.

He admitted that TTP leader Baitullah Mehsud was behind the killing of Benazir. “I have been investigated by FIA and UN team and I have given this statement.”

He said that PM Imran Khan would quit government but would not offer any NRO like deal to the opposition.

Replying to a question if the PM would ask him whether Musharraf should be brought back to try him on treason charges, he said, “I would say your plate is already full.” He said that 300 to 400 people should be tried on treason charges instead of Musharraf only.

He also asserted that Zardari will not come out of jail in corruption cases as these were such solid cases against him. “Whatever briefing I got from FIA, it is two plus two case,” he said while giving the reference of fake accounts case.

About the heart disease of Nawaz Sharif, he said that politicians had damaged their own credibility as if he had faced three heart attacks, the jail superintendent would have resigned. “In 2013, I met Nawaz Sharif not to get ticket but to mend my relations with Nawaz because I knew he was going to become the PM,” he said adding that he feared that Sharif might not arrest me after coming into power.

About the whereabouts of former Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, he said that he did not know about that. General Ziauddin Butt alleged this against me, he said and added that “this is how Allah saved army from such COAS. Butt only remained COAS for 15 minutes,” he said.

“I suspect all this episode because this has been said that Laden stayed in Haripur for six years, how this was possible,” he also said.

Shah concluded that the PTI government would complete its five year term.

About the rumours that the army was behind the PTI government, he said that if army and government were on the same page, this is the strength of this country. He also said that the government has to protect lives of citizens but it would enforce law if the opposition resorted to violence.