Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has said he will not strike any deal with the establishment to secure his freedom from incarceration.
According to Khan’s sister, Aleema, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder has rejected the impression he is seeking a “deal” to escape prosecution in the various cases pending against him. “I will fight every case. What need is there for a deal when I am fighting cases?” she quoted him as saying from Adiala Jail. “I will not strike a deal on the orders of the establishment or any country,” he was quoted as saying.
Khan, said Aleema, had rubbished the impression that he would accept house arrest at his Bani Gala residence or stay “silent” in exchange for his freedom. She claimed the two major cases against Khan—the Toshakhana case and the Al-Qadir Trust case—would both be dismissed in high courts.
Aleema said her brother believed the incumbent judiciary was a mockery of the country’s judicial system. She also reiterated Khan’s view of the May 9 riots being a “conspiracy” designed to sideline the PTI. “The plot for May 9 was premeditated,” she quoted the former prime minister as saying. “Those who left the party after May 9 had their cases forgiven,” she added.
Reiterating the PTI’s demand of judicial inquiries into the May 9 riots and Nov. 26 crackdown, Aleema also demanded the release of all political prisoners. She alleged, without offering any evidence, that “mass graves” had been discovered.
Shibli Faraz
Separately, PTI Senator Shibli Faraz refuted the “false perception” that Khan was seeking relief for himself through negotiations with the government. He alleged that the ruling coalition was falsely spreading propaganda that the PTI founder wanted relief for himself.
He maintained that negotiations were seeking the freedom of “all political prisoners”—which also included Khan but was not limited to him.