New Delhi: A top Pakistani Lt General’s resignation—one of the contenders for the COAS post—may not have impressed the country’s mainstream media but independent journalists and YouTubers aren’t stopping themselves from telling the people about the “forced” exit of the officer said to have accused the Army of being party to election rigging.
Lieutenant General Ayman Bilal Safdar made the comments “against the Army”, according to these YouTubers, at the Corps Commander Conference on 5 March 2024.
Journalist and convenor of Pakistan Democracy Forum, Haider Mehdi who claimed to have been the first one to report this has taken to X to send a message to “Army Generals, officers and troops” to arrest the current COAS, General Asim Munir.
He also laid out a timeline of events—“Safdar was removed from command and asked to report to GHQ on 4 April. Instead, he left his command without any farewells on 2 April.”
According to Haider, he is now in Saudi Arabia for umrah.
“If you don’t do your constitutional duty to arrest Asim Munir and those senior generals who have violated Pakistan’s laws and constitution, there will be NO PAKISTAN”, he posted.
Shaheen Sehbai, an independent journalist, said on X that the Lt. General was removed after he had asked Asim Munir to not let his personal differences with Imran Khan impact the Army.
“He stood up against him and therefore had to resign. He was the only one. If a few others, who hold the same views, had the courage to stand up, perhaps Munir would have been ousted,” he added.
The internet was quick to react. Salman Ahmad, a Pakistani-American musician, called Asim Munir “a petrified and paranoid Super King” who “forced conscientious Gen Iman out”.
One user lamented that retired ones are being appointed, and getting extensions, while the next in line, the senior most, is retiring early. “Absolute clownery,” the post read.
Another claimed that the General had been sacked by ‘Dajjal’ (evil) Asim because he “was apolitical, & did not support Asim’s politics & fascism”. “Majority of good Generals in PAK ARMY have been fired. What remains is garbage,” they added.
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A controversial Lt. General
In January 2021, the Lt. General courted controversy after he claimed China deployed him to crush the growing Balochistan freedom movement.
The Lt General was among the few to have been promoted in the 2022 military reshuffle. Promotions at this rank within the army are exclusively determined by the COAS. However, it’s customary for the chiefs to engage in informal discussions with other senior generals before reaching a decision.
The promotions were particularly significant, as they were among the key choices made by former COAS Qamar Javed Bajwa before his retirement. The twelve promoted officers constituted a significant portion of the team that Munir inherited, Dawn had reported in December 2022.
According to senior journalist Asad Ali Toor, Safdar was the commander of the Central Command and the Mangla Corps, making him a key resource. He was also a top contendor to become the next COAS.
“His resignation is not a simple incident. It is not easily digestible. His thinking is seen to not have been in alignment with Munir’s and perhaps that is why he was sidelined and had to resign,” Toor added.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)