Pak PM Imran Khan says 'establishment' gave him 3 choices; Army refutes claim

Islamabad, Apr 2: The Pakistan Army on Friday denied the claims made by Imran Khan, who said in an interview that the "establishment" had given him three options: "resignation, no-confidence (vote) or elections" after the Opposition filed a no-trust motion against him in Parliament.

The News International reported that the military established said that it did not bring Opposition's option and the Federal government had called the top bras to discuss about the political situation.

The meeting between Pakistan PM and the Chief of Pakistan Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the Directive General (DG) of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) happened on Wednesday at the request of the ruling government, as per The News International citing sources. The cricketer-turned-politician choose the option to dissolve the National Assembly.

Asked whether the Opposition, government or "another party" had proposed early elections and his resignation as options, the prime minister told ARY News that he was presented with the three options.

"We said elections are the best option, I cannot even think about resigning and as far as the no-confidence vote is concerned, I believe in fighting till the end," the 69-year-old cricketer-turned-politician said.

Pointing out that several members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had defected to the Opposition ahead of the no-trust vote on Sunday, Khan said that even if the no-trust move failed, "We cannot run the government with such people (defectors)." Hence, "it will be better for Pakistan if we hold elections again," he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

When asked whether he was prepared to go for early elections, he replied, "If we win [in] this [no-confidence] vote, it is a very good idea to go for early elections." "We will make a strategy" in case the Opposition's no-trust motion fails, he added. The prime minister also termed the Opposition parties, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), as a "disgrace" to the country and said it was due their policies in the past that a foreign power was openly calling for regime change in Pakistan.