“If you think I call the shots in this country then you have no idea who Imran Khan is,” the all-powerful Pakistani army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa told the students when he was asked if the army was running the country. 

And the young audience of Lahore University of Management Sciences were amused with the answer on Sunday. Though there were no question-and-answer sessions, it was an impromptu decision by Bajwa when one student requested the same. 

Bajwa told the students that the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is “calling the shots” while the military is playing a secondary role as he is struggling for his survival in the wake of the impending no-confidence vote against him. 

“No, I am not his friend. He is my boss,” replied the smiling general of the Pakistani military establishment who selected Imran Khan to be the Prime Minister in 2018 by rigging the elections.

According to Pakistani watchers, Bajwa’s remark has come at the time when the military establishment has decided to dump its pilot project of a hybrid regime headed by Imran Khan. 

“Bajwa was making a mockery of Imran Khan. In fact, his message was clear that Imran Khan is responsible for the current situations in Pakistan, not the army,” said one Pakistani journalist.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s fate was sealed when the army declared that in the wake of the opposition sponsored no-confidence vote. 

“Pakistan army is neutral,” the army also warned Imran Khan and his ministers, “not to drag them into his politics as the military has nothing to do with domestic politics.”

But beleaguered “puppet” Imran Khan shot back at Bajwa by saying that “"only animals remain neutral." Khan ridiculed Bajwa in public when he attacked him publicly.

Also Read: Only animals remain neutral – Defiant Imran Khan hits back at Army chief General Bajwa

Declaring war on Gen. Bajwa, Imran Khan gave a blunt message to his “selectors” to keep their advice to themselves. Khan warned that he would be more of a danger if he were not in office and said, “If I take to the streets, then you won’t find any place to hide."

 Imran Khan is insecure and frustrated as Bajwa has let Imran Khan know that he is no longer propping up Khan. 

According to the Pakistani experts, Khan would fight till the end – and not just with the opposition, but his “selectors” as well. 

“By calling his supporters to Islamabad on March 27, a day before the no-confidence vote, Khan is ready to fight on the street. His abuses, insults, and threats are part of his strategy to create mayhem,” said one journalist. 

Is the Pakistan army repenting of the failure of the project of “hybrid” regime ? 

Not exactly, the establishment has decided that no such “project” may take a toll on its “credibility”. But make no mistake, no matter what, Pakistan will be ruled by the Pakistan army.

Also Read: 'Keep us out from your politics' Pak Army warns PM Imran Khan