With reports of Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa privately meeting top business leaders to find ways to bolster the economy, discussions are on, on a possible military coup in Pakistan, say political analysts.
As per reports, the three meetings Bloomberg is aware of took place this year at heavily guarded military offices in Karachi, the financial capital, and Rawalpindi, a northern town that houses the army’s headquarters.
At the meetings, arranged through mutual contacts, Bajwa asked business leaders how to fix the economy and what would lead them to make investments, said the people, who asked not to be identified.
Some of the meetings resulted in prompt decisions including sending instructions to top government officials, the people said, without giving any specific examples. They said the general was concerned about restoring confidence among the business community.
The military, which has staged numerous coups since Pakistan’s founding in 1947, has seen a direct impact from the economic slowdown: Defense spending was frozen in the 2020 fiscal year budget for the first time in more than a decade.
That comes as soldiers are on high alert against terrorists based in Afghanistan and conventional forces in arch-rival India, which has put the disputed area of Kashmir under lockdown.
An army spokesman declined to comment when asked about the meetings.
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