The PML-N gave a ‘blank cheque’ on former army chief Gen (retd) Bajwa’s extension in tenure, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has claimed.

“On extension, we had given a sort of blank cheque,” he told Geo News on Saturday. “Neither we had sought anything nor had a deal on it.”

On January 8, 2020, Parliament approved a law that allowed the government to extend the term of the country’s army chief, despite the objections of some parties and rights activists. The two major opposition parties – PML-N and PPP – supported the legislation.

The-then prime minister Imran Khan had previously extended Gen (retd) Bajwa’s extension in tenure through a notification in August 2019. But the Supreme Court suspended it on Nov 26, 2019, due to irregularities in the manner of extension.

Two years later, Khan regretted that giving the three-year extension granted to former army chief Gen (retd) Bajwa was a “big mistake” and stressed that no one should get that in the army.

Asif, who belongs to the PML-N, added that it was a unanimous decision of the party’s senior leadership in London. “It was strict instructions of Mian Sb [Nawaz Sharif] that you must give a vote,” he said.

Without disclosing the name, he said that a person met him while he was in hospital in 2021 with a “workable formula”. He claimed that the “person” came with an offer for the premiership and his and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s name were suggested.

In the short clips, Asif added that the offer included that the PML-N leadership would have to wait.

In the short clips, Asif added that the offer included that the PML-N leadership would have to wait.

The defence minister had apparently refused to become the prime minister and added that he had no issues if Abbasi got the coveted slot.