A much-relieved Prime Minister Imran on Thursday lauded the Supreme Court for allowing General Qamar Javed Bajwa to continue as Pakistan Army chief for another six months even as he took a jibe at the country's "external enemies" and the "mafias within", saying the verdict must be of "special disappointment" to them.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa approved a conditional extension in Chief of the Army Staff General Bajwa's tenure for an additional six months.
The top court's ruling comes in the nick of time as Gen Bajwa was set to retire at midnight Thursday. Prime Minister Khan had extended Bajwa's tenure through a notification on August 19, but the apex court suspended it on Tuesday, citing irregularities in the manner Gen Bajwa, a close confidant of Khan, was granted a 3-year extension.
"Today must be a great disappointment to those who expected the country to be destabilised by a clash of institutions," Khan said in a series of tweets soon after the Supreme Court announced its short verdict.
"That this did not happen must be of special disappointment to our external enemies & mafias within," Khan said.
He did not identify Pakistan's "external enemies" and the "mafias within."
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