The dangerous rift between Imran Khan and Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa appears to have escalated with the Pakistani Prime Minister now daring to recall Bajwa’s protege Lt Gen (retd) Bilal Akbar, Islamabad’s envoy to Saudi Arabia.
The latest incident thickens the bad blood between Khan and Bajwa following the tussle between the two over the appointment of ISI chief Faiz Hameed as corps commander in Peshawar. Khan has been resisting Hameed’s transfer—an issue that has pitted the Prime Minister frontally against Bajwa.
Instead of the incumbent ambassador, Khan is apparently interested in appointing Ameer Khurram Rathore, a career diplomat as Pakistan’s top envoy in the Kingdom, in fact, Rathore is currently travelling with Khan in Saudi Arabia.
Quoting multiple sources, Pakistani daily The News is reporting that though there is no official word out as yet, Khan has made up his mind to replace Gen. Akbar, with his handpicked favourite.
Interestingly, Akbar was appointed as the ambassador to Saudi kingdom in January this year. His appointment was seen as Bajwa’s attempt to rebuild ties with its Gulf ally, which had frayed after the Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi threatened the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a 57-member bloc of Islamic countries largely controlled by Saudi Arabia, to do more to resolve the Kashmir dispute.
The statement led to an unprecedented low in the Pakistan-Saudi relations, and its aftermath saw Pakistan’s army chief actively engaging in firefighting in an attempt to quell tensions that had suddenly surged between the two one-time allies. At that time, Bajwa got his trusted comrade Bilal Akbar to spearhead the damage control exercise.
Gen Akbar’s appointment was seen as the military's desire to take control of the bilateral ties that were going into free fall because of Qureshi’s goof up.
The ambassadorial position in Pakistan’s mission in Saudi Arabia is often held by a retired military officer, reflecting the fact that the relations between two countries are mostly focused on defence.
