Imran Khan orders PTI leadership to halt all negotiations with establishment

PTI founder announces a protest in Rawalpindi on Saturday, rejecting the need for official permission to hold a rally

RAWALPINDI:

Former prime minister and incarcerated PTI founder, Imran Khan, has directed his party’s leadership to abandon all attempts at negotiating with the establishment, asserting that such talks only strengthen their adversaries.

“There is no point in engaging with the establishment. The more we retreat, the more they crush us. This is not the institution’s policy but that of the third umpire,” Khan remarked during a conversation with the media inside Adiala Jail, where he has now spent a year.

Reflecting on his time in prison, Khan dismissed the notion that he would break under pressure. “They thought I’d crumble, that I wouldn’t survive solitary confinement. I’ve spent 21 to 22 hours a day in isolation. In the summer, I sweat so much that my clothes deteriorated. They don’t understand what sportsman training is like; we are conditioned to endure under pressure.”

Khan drew historical parallels, highlighting how Japan rebounded after the atomic bombings due to its intact institutions. “When institutions and morality remain intact, a country survives. Here, however, the ‘extension mafia’ is destroying both for its own gain. The Gang of Three is ruining the nation’s future and institutions for their extensions.”

He referenced the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report, saying it was a lesson in how one man’s lust for power devastated Pakistan’s democracy, resulting in the loss of East Pakistan. “The Dhaka debacle cost us billions, shamed us globally, and saw 90,000 troops captured while 50,000 Pakistanis were killed. The commission’s report was hidden away instead of being used as a learning tool.”

Khan also announced a protest in Rawalpindi on Saturday, rejecting the need for official permission to hold a rally. “Our lawyers will also protest outside the Supreme Court tomorrow. It has been proven that [Chief Justice] Qazi Faez Isa is with them. He is one of their players, alongside Sikandar Sultan Raja, while the third umpire is their captain, controlling everything.”

Criticising Jutice Isa further, Khan accused him of providing cover for the injustices against his party. “It was Isa’s job to protect fundamental rights, but he didn’t even order a single judicial inquiry. People from my party have been in jail for 16 months without trial, including Mehmoodur Rasheed and Ijaz Chaudhry, despite their health conditions.”

Khan likened the current political climate to the situation in Palestine, claiming Western powers delay ceasefires to crush Palestinians. “They want to crush us in the same way.”

Regarding the Al-Qadir Trust case, Khan insisted that he had not gained financially. “They’ve accused us of benefiting from a £190 million adjustment, but nothing was proven. The property tycoon donated the land to the trust, just as he has donated millions to Shaukat Khanum Hospital, which raises 10 billion rupees annually.”

In response to questions about party leader Ali Amin Gandapur, Khan reaffirmed that all leadership, including Gandapur, had been instructed not to engage in talks with the establishment. “Since Bajwa’s era, they’ve told us not to talk about neutrality. The more we step back, the more they crush us. This is the policy of the third umpire, not the institution.”

Khan also called for the timely appointment of the next Chief Justice of Pakistan, urging that Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, the senior-most judge, should be announced as the next chief justice. “There are only 30 days left, and the Constitution mandates that the senior-most judge be appointed. They delayed the announcement, even though Isa’s appointment was declared three months in advance.”

He criticised Justice Isa for failing to act when judges in the Islamabad High Court were threatened. “Isa doesn’t even pretend to be neutral,” he said.

Khan concluded by reiterating that Saturday’s event in Rawalpindi would not be a rally but a protest, as he withdraws his application from the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench. “We know they won’t grant permission, or if they do, it will be far from the city. So, we will hold a full-fledged protest instead, and our lawyers will be outside the Supreme Court as well.”