Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam chief Maulana Fazal ur Rehman claimed on Thursday that the vote of no-confidence that removed Imran Khan from power was done at the behest of General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Lt. General Faiz Hameed.

Fazal made the claims in a TV interview with Nadeem Malik on Samaa TV on Thursday, adding that he would have been accused of protecting Khan if he had chosen not to proceed with the VONC.

When Malik said if it would be correct to describe the vote as being planned by the generals and was only stamped into existence by Pakistan Mulsim League Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party, Fazal expressed agreement with a laugh.

“You are the right kind of journalist,” he told Malik. “You got it out of me.”

Maulana added that leaders from all parties involved in the vote were not only in touch with the two generals but had been summoned by them told what to do.

He said that there was resentement in the people over inflation but it had not been felt in Punjab and Sindh and had only been seen against JUI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Imran Khan had been removed from power after a vote of no-confidence removed him from power in April 2022.

Maulana Fazal ur Rehman was the leader of the Pakistan Democratic Movement, a collection of 13 parties, that had taken over government afterwards. However, Fazal himself did not take up a position in the government.

Khan has since blamed the United States for initiating a conspiracy against him, later saying it was done through then Army Chief General Bajwa.

Maulana Fazal ur Rehman also said that the way forward was to take to the streets in a peaceful protest which would lead to a ‘revolution’ meaning establishment’s role in politics will end.

He added that politicans have run dozens of movments for democracy and even braved oppression and prisons only to end up strengthening arms of establishment.