Islamabad (The Thursday Times) — Had former Mangla Corps Commander Lieutenant General (retd) Ayman Bilal Safdar, who took early retirement, not resigned from the army, he would have been court-martialled. The army had asked him to choose between resigning and a court martial.
Well-known journalist Shahid Aslam has said that a few months ago Lieutenant General (retd) Ayman Bilal Safdar travelled to Saudi Arabia with his family to perform Umrah. During a meeting with a close acquaintance at a hotel there, he made some remarks against Army Chief General Asim Munir, and a recording of them reached General Asim Munir.
When Lieutenant General (retd) Ayman Bilal Safdar returned home after Umrah, he was summoned. The army asked Lieutenant General (retd) Ayman Bilal Safdar to choose between resigning and a court martial, after which the then Mangla Corps Commander, Lieutenant General (retd) Ayman Bilal Safdar, decided on early retirement and resigned.
The eminent journalist said that former Mangla Corps Commander Lieutenant General (retd) Ayman Bilal Safdar is close to Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders Omar Ayub and Hammad Azhar, and that he tried to provide both political figures with a safe passage in the May 9 cases. It is also believed that it was because of former Mangla Corps Commander Lieutenant General (retd) Ayman Bilal Safdar that the two political figures could not be arrested.
Journalist Shahid Aslam says that former Mangla Corps Commander Lieutenant General (retd) Ayman Bilal Safdar, who took early retirement, is also accused of embezzling Rs240 million to Rs250 million during the reconstruction of the Mangla Corps Commander's residence. Lieutenant General (retd) Ayman Bilal Safdar also has good relations with General Asif Ghafoor and former Lahore Corps Commander Salman Fayyaz Ghani.
Another well-known journalist, Saeed Chaudhry, has revealed that when he retired, former army chief General (retd) Raheel Sharif left some lieutenant general posts vacant so that the new army chief, General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, could form his own team. However, before General Asim Munir became army chief, the former army chief, General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, gave early promotions to a few major generals.
According to the details, former Mangla Corps Commander Lieutenant General (retd) Ayman Bilal Safdar was also among those promoted early, whom the former army chief, General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, had made lieutenant generals before his retirement.
