Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has claimed that the military establishment offered him the seat of prime minister in 2018 on the condition of leaving Nawaz Sharif.

He added that he had a meeting with then army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa prior to the general election. He said that DG ISI General Naveed Mukhtar and General Faiz Hameed were also present in the meeting.

However, Shehbaz said he told the generals that though he differed with his elder brother on some matters he did it behind closed doors. He also said that he considered his brother to be his father and leader.

He added that he told the army chief that if he had to become PM only by stabbing his own brother in the back, he would sacrifice the PM seat ‘ten times over’.

Shehbaz made the claims in an interview on Geo TV on Tuesday.

He also added that his government had no vendetta against Imran Khan and had not made any cases against him. All cases, Shehbaz said, had been made after the law sprang into action.

He also added that Maryam Nawaz had risen to the position of chief organiser through her ‘bravery’ in defending Nawaz Sharif when the latter was in jail.

He also added that the appointment of General Asim Munir as army chief had been made according to merit. He also said that Nawaz Sharif would return to Pakistan soon.