Imran Khan asks military to nominate representative for holding talks

 RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) imprisoned founder Imran Khan has expressed willingness for initiating talks with the army, asking the military to nominate a representative to hold parleys. 

The PTI founder, who appeared in a court established in Adiala jail for a hearing, said: "We are ready to hold talks with the military. The army should nominate their representative [for negotiations]."

Khan, who has been imprisoned for nearly a year, said that his party had never levelled allegations against the army, but had only criticised the armed forces.

He further said that if any PTI worker was found guilty in the May 9, 2023, riots then the authorities should penalise the individual.

Khan reiterated that the incumbent government wanted to destroy his party by creating a wedge between PTI party and the armed forces.

When asked why was he seeking talks when he was criticising the army and why wasn't he seeking talks with political parties, he said: "What is the SIFC? Who is Mohsin Naqvi? There is an undeclared martial law."

Khan said that Interior Minister Naqvi was "their" representative and that he had reached "this place due to them".

He then alleged that he would never hold talks with Naqvi as he along with the Punjab Inspector General (IG) “oppressed” his party.

In his statement, the PTI founder also termed Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz "fascist" while pointing towards back-to-back arrests of the party leadership across the province.

The deposed prime minister, referring to his arrest last year, alleged that he was "abducted from judicial complex" and "it was declared legal by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamer Farooq".

He demanded the IHC CJ to recuse himself from his cases. Appealing to the judiciary, Khan said that his cases should be referred to any other high court judges except for Justice Farooq.

Slamming Khan’s call for negotiations, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and Punjab senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that the "self-proclaimed revolutionary figure” has descended from his previous stances of “I will not seek pardon" to an apologetic tone.

The Punjab minister questioned on what issues the PTI founder wants to hold dialogue with the military.

Referring to the May 9 violent protests, Aurangzeb asked the incarcerated ex-premier to tender an apology to the military for "attacking GHQ, martyrs' monuments, corps commander's house and airbase, instead of demanding talks".

Reacting to Imran's "fascist" remarks against the Punjab CM, Aurangzeb said: "A fascist is an individual who violates the Constitution for staying in power. A fascist is a person who arrests a daughter before his imprisoned father to torture the political opponent."

She further said that a "media predator" and the one who ceased freedom of expression could be termed a "fascist".

Responding to Imran's allegations, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said that the PTI founder was himself a "fascist ruler" who sent more than 100 PML-N leaders behind bars in political cases.

She added that the PML-N leaders did not leave Nawaz Sharif and the party despite facing arrests. On the other hand, the PTI leaders conducted press conferences to announce quitting the Imran-founded party after spending only one night in jails, she criticised.

Bokhari asked Imran not to throw the burden of his “crimes, failed rebellion and anti-Pakistan conspiracies” on CM Maryam. She said that those who were responsible for the "failed rebellion" on May 9, 2023, will be held accountable.

The latest statement comes a day after Khan endorsed his earlier statement that he directed his party works to stage a peaceful protest outside the military's General Headquarters (GHQ)in Rawalpindi before his arrest last year.

The PTI leadership had refuted the media reports about Khan's admission, claiming that the party founder "didn't say what is being reported in the media".

In the same a day earlier, the legally embattled PTI leader also came up with a new stance on the "only animals are neutral" statement from 2022.

"Neutral doesn't mean animal, it means apolitical. I meant to say the army is non-partisan," he said, while referring to his remark made at a rally in Lower Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when he was the prime minister in 2022.

Cases against ex-PM

The 71-year-old PTI founding chairman has been in prison for almost a year after he was booked in a plethora of cases, including the Toshakhana, cipher, and the un-Islamic marriage. His wife, Bushra, has also been behind bars for months.

However, a court suspended his sentence in the Toshakhana case, while other courts overturned his convictions in the cipher and iddat cases.

While there were hopes for Imran and Bushra's release in July, they were dashed when NAB arrested them on fresh charges related to the sale of state gifts.

The chances of Imran's release from jail further dimmed after he was arrested in new cases linked to the May 9, 2023, riots, following his acquittal in the iddat case.