Jailed Imran urges excellent ties with military

PTI founder says open to any dialogue with army, not govt; rules out out-of-court settlement

ISLAMABAD:

Jailed former prime minister, Imran Khan, who blames the establishment for his ouster and 12-month-old imprisonment on what he calls trumped-up charges, said on Sunday it would be "foolish" not to have "excellent" relations with the miltiary.

Ahead of Monday's anniversary of his jailing on dozens of charges ranging from corruption to leaking state secrets, Khan also said in written responses to Reuters questions that he held no grudges against the United States, whom he has also blamed for his 2022 ouster from office.

"Given Pakistan's geographical position and the military's significant role in the private sector, it would be foolish not to foster such a relationship," Khan wrote in replies relayed by his media and legal team. "We are proud of our soldiers and armed forces," he said.

Khan said his criticisms since his ouster had been directed at individuals, not the military as an institution. "The miscalculations of the military leadership shouldn't be held against the institution as a whole," he said.

On Wednesday, Khan offered to hold "conditional negotiations" with the military – if "clean and transparent" elections were held and the "bogus" cases against his supporters were dropped. Both the military and the government have repeatedly denied his assertions. The US also denies role in his ouster.

In his replies, the 71-year-old former cricket star, who lost power in a parliamentary vote of no confidence, did not specify what he wanted to discuss with the military.

Khan has said that the military has been backing what he calls the politically-motivated cases against him. Still, he said, there would be "no harm" in engaging with the generals if he should be released from jail and seek to return to power.

"We are open to any dialogue that could help improve the dire situation in Pakistan," he said, adding that it was useless to open any such talks with the coalition government, which he says does not enjoy public backing. It would be "more productive to engage with those who actually wield power".

Khan and his party are accused of being responsible for attacks on military installations last year. His imprisonment has added to the political volatility in Pakistan, which has experienced a prolonged economic crisis and last month received a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The political instability since Khan's ouster from power helped force Islamabad to accept the IMF's painful fiscal consolidation requirements, which have burdened the people with heavy taxes, analysts say. The IMF has called for political stability to help put the $350 billion economy on a recovery path.

Khan rejected the idea of reaching an out-of-court settlement with the government or military, unless they accepted that his PTI party had won a majority in February's election. "The elections were the most rigged in Pakistan's history," Khan told Reuters.