Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s sister and his lawyer on Monday announced he has written a letter to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Asim Munir urging the military to reevaluate its policies to bridge the widening gap between the public and the armed forces.
Speaking with media after meeting Khan at Adiala Jail, where he remains incarcerated following a conviction in the 190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said Khan had urged security institutions to take notice of a need to change prevailing policies. He said Khan had blamed alleged rigging in the 2024 general elections for public anger.
Additionally, he claimed, the passage of the 26th Amendment had sought to “control” the judiciary to secure preferred outcomes in cases pertaining to Khan and alleged election fraud. The lawyer said the letter also referred to recent changes to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act that placed new restrictions on the internet, social media, freedom of opinion and expression. Such actions, Chaudhry cited Khan as writing, put the country’s GSP+ status at risk, hampering investment and economic progress.
According to Chaudhry, Khan claimed “all institutions” were busy in trying to “crush” the PTI, resulting in a boost in terrorism. He said Khan had also highlighted that violations to court orders were being blamed on the military.
Open letter
Subsequently, the PTI shared the alleged text of the letter on Khan’s official X account. Largely validating Chaudhry’s assertions, the letter blamed the “poor state of the economy” on political instability. It stressed on bridging the gap between the Army and the people to achieve stability and security. This, wrote Khan, required “the Army to return to its constitutional boundaries, separate itself from politics and fulfil its assigned responsibilities.”
The letter stressed Khan was writing it as a former prime minister.
This is the second such letter penned by Khan in recent weeks. Last week, he had forwarded a 300+ page letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi and Constitutional Bench head Justice Aminudding Khan lamenting that several petitions filed by him and his party were still pending. The letter contained “evidence” of the government’s high-handedness.
Responding to the letter, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Public and Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah claimed its true intent was to sow divisions between the military and the public. In an appearance on Geo News, he questioned the letter’s veracity. He also urged the PTI to seek solutions to its problems in Parliament and not through “intervention.”