PML-Q leader Moonis Elahi’s claim about siding with the PTI on the former army chief’s advice at the time of the vote of no-confidence raises more questions on the political interference, Hammad Azhar said.

“In that case perhaps Salik Hussain s/o Shujaat Hussain didn’t get that msg. Or perhaps got a different message. This raises more questions on political interference,” he said in a tweet while reacting to a clip of Moonis’ interview on Hum News.

The clip of the interview was making rounds on social media on Friday, with many Internet users questioning the PTI’s narrative about the former chief of army staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Punjab Chief Minister Pervez Elahi decided to support the PTI chief at the time of the vote of no-confidence in April when political parties from both sides of the aisle in Parliament reached out to him as the Q-league had a big stake in the largest populated province. However, the decision apparently caused fissures in the party as another bigwig of PML-Q Shujaat Hussain did not support it. Later, the PML-Q stripped Shujaat of the party role.

Since then, the Elahi faction was given the throne of Punjab, and Shujaat’s son was included in the federal cabinet.

However, Imran took to the streets in April. He used terms like Mir Jaffar and Mir Sadiq. The PTI chief also fired a broadside at the neutrals – a term he used for military establishment – and asked why they did not do anything when the conspiracy was being planned.

“Humans either side with good or evil. Only animals remain neutral,” he said at a rally.

What did Moonis say?

“At present, a certain section on social media has been bashing Bajwa sahib without any reason. He is the same Bajwa sahib who had bent the direction of the river’s flow for the PTI,” Moonis said in response to a query about having any understanding of the old command of the army.

He added he has a disagreement with all those who are against the ex-army chief. “A man went all out for you (PTI), but now that he had retired, he has become bad,” Moonis said and challenged the PTI to support such a narrative.

He claimed that there was no contact with the incumbent command of the army.

“That person was never bad. If he was… let me tell you this if that person was bad he would have never told me to side with the PTI,” he said when the host sought clarification on whether Gen Bajwa had asked them to support Imran.

“When the decision was being taken on which way we have to go, we had received offers from both sides — *mian sahiban [*Sharif family], the PDM [Pakistan Democratic Movement], as well as the PTI. Obviously, as everyone knows, my inclination was toward the PTI. There’s no doubt about it.”

Moonis continued that he had a discussion with his father, Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi, who had a talk with them (an apparent reference to the military establishment).

“They said, ‘It is my wish that you side with them [PTI]’. Had that man [Gen Bajwa] been bad, why would he have asked us to side with them at that critical juncture … Had that man been that bad and against Khan sahib and the PTI, […] he only had to give a signal at that juncture and we would have gone the other way. This is why I don’t even buy this story that he is against [the PTI],” he added.

He described the informers call as a “drama”

Moonis said that something fishy was going on while answering a query on the regime change conspiracy. He reiterated that it was from everywhere when the host pressed that every stakeholder benefited from such a claim.