ISLAMABAD: Former PM Imran Khan categorically said on Tuesday that his party was ready for talks with the military establishment. Speaking to reporters at Adiala jail, the PTI founder laid down three preconditions: the return of his party’s ‘stolen mandate’, the release of all detained party workers and the holding of transparent elections.
Last week, Mr Khan had raised eyebrows when he tasked his sister Aleema and party leader Omar Ayub with ‘conveying messages’ to army chief Gen Asim Munir, asking him to ‘remain neutral’.
The duo had, in their remarks to the media, passed on Mr Khan’s warning that the Shehbaz government was trying to pit the army, PTI and the public against each other.
This had come as a surprise, as both Mr Khan and the party had been quite critical of the army chief and the military up to that point, especially in the wake of the arrest of party spokesperson Raoof Hasan and other social media activists over allegations of ‘digital terrorism’.
On Tuesday, Mr Khan said the country could be rescued from the ongoing crisis with a government that would come into power through free and fair elections.
Saying that Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s proposal to resign from the assemblies was one of the options, he made it clear that this contingency would be considered at the appropriate juncture.
He said the party had already nominated Mehmood Khan Achakzai — who leads the opposition alliance known as the Tehreek Tahaffuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) — to negotiate on their behalf, and urged the military to nominate their representatives for talks.
Claiming that his party had never levelled allegations against the army, he said that even a spoilt child was liable to criticism.
He recalled that Gen Ziaul Haq was behind the judicial murder of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, while Gen Yahya Khan was responsible for the fall of Dhaka.
Mr Khan also endorsed the stance taken by the Jamaat-i-Islami over an unprecedented hike in utility bills and also voiced support for Baloch activists, protesting for the recovery of missing persons.
