Imran Khan open to military talks, but not own fate

By Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday rejected any deal to ease his legal and political woes, digging in despite pressure from allies and adversaries alike to soften his stance.

Speaking during a court hearing at Adiala Jail, where he has been detained for over two years, Khan dismissed negotiations for personal gain, even as his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party grapples with internal rifts and external threats.

The defiance came hours after a visit from former PTI ally Fawad Chaudhry, who urged Khan to adopt a more pragmatic strategy to rescue the struggling party. Khan’s refusal also clashed with a suggestion from his sister, Aleema Khan, who earlier this week floated a deal with Pakistan’s powerful military to secure his release. She accused “unseen forces”, a thinly veiled reference to the military, of rigging the judiciary against her brother.

“There’s no give and take for me,” Khan said, according to PTI lawyer Ali Zafar, who briefed reporters after the hearing. “If I wanted a favor, I’d have taken it long ago.” Khan signaled openness to talks with the military, but only on national issues, not his own fate. “Khan sahab said that he was willing to talk, but only in the best interest of the country and would not demand any gain or relaxation for himself.”

Khan faces a slew of charges, including those tied to the May 9, 2023, riots sparked by his arrest, part of a broader fallout from his 2022 ouster in a no-confidence vote he claims the military engineered.

Chaudhry, once a close confidant but now distanced from PTI, emerged from the jail meeting warning that Khan lacks seasoned advisers. “It seems that everyone who manages to meet Khan sahab tries to get someone appointed or spends time making efforts to get someone removed from the party,” he told reporters. “I told Khan sahab that there should be some strategy to deal with the situation.”

“I also informed [him] that the [PTI] leadership, which is out of jail, is a newcomer, as a majority of them joined the party a few years ago and they are not even aware of the situation,” he added.

He criticized PTI’s scattershot battles with the military, the government, and rival parties, calling Khan’s focus on negotiating solely with the establishment “undemocratic.” “It would be undemocratic to stress that the PTI would only talk to the establishment, not with the political parties,” Chaudhry said.

Instead, Chaudhry pitched a two-pronged approach: unite with opposition parties first, then engage both the government and military. “That’s the only way to carve out political space,” he said. His advice underscored PTI’s precarious position as newer leaders, many recent recruits, struggle to steer the party without Khan’s direct guidance.

As Khan remains behind bars, PTI is grappling with internal discord, particularly in Punjab, a critical stronghold. Reports surfaced this week suggesting that Aliya Hamza Malik had been ousted as president of PTI Punjab, replaced by a four-member committee. The party quickly moved to quash the speculation. In an official statement, PTI’s Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram clarified that Malik retains her position, appointed in January 2025, and that the new committee — comprising Salman Akram Raja, Omar Ayub Khan, Ahmed Khan Bhachar, and Mian Akram Usman — was formed solely to support her in managing organizational affairs.

The episode underscores the leadership vacuum left by Khan’s incarceration and the challenges faced by newer party figures in maintaining cohesion amid relentless external pressure.

PTI is also working to heal internal wounds. A recent Islamabad meeting, attended by Khan’s sisters, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, and party lawyers, patched up tensions between Aleema Khan and Gandapur. The group vowed to unify efforts for Khan’s release, directing lawmakers to attend his court hearings. Aleema Khan stressed she’s no politician but will keep fighting for her brother. Attendees received a briefing on the legal status of his trials, though no clear timeline for his release emerged.