Imran not seeking any ‘deal’: Salman Raja

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said Tuesday the party founder Imran Khan is not seeking any relief or concessions and he will be freed from the jail in line with the constitution and law.

Talking to the media after being stopped from going to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, Salman Akram Raja said denying their scheduled meeting with the party supremo is not only a contempt of the orders of the ATC court but also a violation of the rights of theprisoner. He maintained that it is clear from the statement made by the founder’s sisters that Imran does not want to strike any kind of deal. “Imran Khan will not come under any pressure, as he has strong nerves; he is not seeking any deal,” Raja contended.

The PTI secretary general said that the party founder wants to uphold principles and respects the army and has called for united move against terrorism. Referring to their scheduled meeting with Imran Khan, he accused the jail authorities of first calling them and then denying the meeting on the pretext of lapsing of time. We came to Adyala jail at one o’clock but were not allowed to meet our leader.” He said the government believes that by not allowing party leaders to meet the founder, they will be able to put him under somekind of pressure. He further charged that all the cases of the PTI founder were given to the judges appointed only two days ago. “The governmetnt is creating an atomphere of intimidation and the nation knows about it,” he remarked. About the expulsion of some party lawmakers, Salman Akram said that there was a proper procedure to expel those who voted against the party policy in the 26th Amendment, “Imran has directed their expulsion,”he added. Salman Raja said that Fawad Chaudhry is not a member of the PTI and his altercation with Shoaib Shaheen is a matter of basic human behavior and suggested filing an FIR over their altercation. He said they will continue to talk to the opposition parties on the problems being faced by the people. He described the parleys with the opposition parties ‘as progressing’ and added they would launch a protest movement after Ramazan.

Talking to the media in Rawalpindi, Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan said that some of the family members have met Imran and found him to be healthy. She quoted the founder as having rejected any deal saying no matter what kind of pressure tactics they use against him he will not strike any deal with them.”

She said that there was no truth in the news about Imran’s health. He is getting all facilities in his prison cell. However, she said that their car was stopped two kilometers from the jail and PTI lawyers Salman Akram Raja and Advocate General KP were denied meeeting with him. “We were also stopped for 50 minutes, but then then we were allowed to visit him inside the Adiala. The PTI founder told us that he was not being allowed to meet Bushra Bibi. Even today the jail administration referred to an order that prevents Bushra Bibi’s meetings with him,” she noted. Quoting Imran, Aleem Khan said that the founder had said that Bushra Bibi is being kept in solitary confinement. “The screenshots attributed to me are fake and I challenge them to be produced in the court where their veracity would be proved,” she said.