Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan on Tuesday claimed his party is ready to engage the military in dialogue, adding the Army should appoint a representative for these negotiations.
In an informal interaction at Adiala Jail during a hearing into the £190 million case, he claimed his party had never alleged anything against the Army and only offered ‘valid’ criticism of their actions. He also said that if any PTI worker was guilty of rioting on May 9, 2023, then authorities should prosecute and penalize them as individuals and allow “innocents” to go free. A day earlier, Khan had reiterated his acceptance of directing his party leadership to demonstrate “peacefully” outside military installations if he were arrested.
The former prime minister also reiterated allegations earlier voiced by his party’s leadership, accusing the PPP and PMLN of attempting to foster a “divide” between the PTI and the armed forces. To a question on how he could justify dialogue with the Army while rubbishing any negotiations with rival political parties, Khan claimed the country was under “undeclared” martial law and it was only suitable to talk to the “real power.”
During his conversation, Khan alleged that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was “their” representative. To a query on whether he would be willing to talk to Naqvi if the Army were to appoint him their “representative,” Khan replied in the negative, alleging Naqvi and the Punjab Inspector General (IG) had “oppressed” the PTI. He further described Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz as a “fascist,” claiming her government was arresting his party’s leadership on various pretexts.
Criticizing Khan’s call for negotiations with the military, Punjab senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said the “self-proclaimed revolutionary figure” has descended from his previous stances of “I will not seek pardon” to an apologetic tone. Referring to the May 9 riots, she said Khan should apologize to the military rather than seeking talks with them. She also slammed him for describing the Punjab chief minister as “fascist,” saying fascists violate the Constitution to remain in power. “A fascist is a person who arrests a daughter before her imprisoned father to torture the political opponent,” she added, referring to Maryam’s arrest by NAB while her father, Nawaz Sharif, was incarcerated.
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari, similarly, said Khan was himself a “fascist ruler,” as he had sent over 100 PMLN leaders behind bars during his time in government.
Federal Information Minister Ataullah Tarar, meanwhile, slammed Khan for “dragging” the Army into political matters. In a press conference, Tarar recalled that Khan had once equated neutrality with animals.
Describing the former premier as a security risk for the country’s economy, Tarar maintained that Khan believed in the politics of mudslinging. “You are a security risk for the country as your people say that there is no Pakistan without the PTI founder,” he said, describing the PTI as a “terrorist outfit” that was unsuitable for Pakistan’s progress.
“You [Imran Khan] brought terrorists back to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. You operate a social media cell. And now you seek dialogue,” he said, noting the calls for dialogue had only come after an “improvement” in the macroeconomic indicators of the country.