Imran Khan will not confront military if freed, Zulfi Bukhari says

Says if Imran ​Khan was released tomorrow, 'he wouldn't do anything that would effectively damage the country'

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan would not confront the military if freed, one of his closest aides told Reuters, portraying the army chief as able to extend a "healing ​hand" after a legal breakthrough this week.

The comments, which came after the Supreme Court ordered Imran to be moved to Shifa International Hospital for treatment, appeared to mark a significant shift in the PTI's rhetoric.

PTI supporters have for years rallied against the establishment after Imran was ousted from power through a vote of no-confidence.

Read: Security beefed up at Islamabad's Shifa hospital as Imran transfer deadline nears

But in an interview on Wednesday, Zulfikar Bukhari, a PTI spokesperson, sent one of the strongest signals so far that the party was ​willing to reconcile with the military, potentially easing one of the tensest stand-offs in recent political history, even as doubts remained whether Imran himself shared that wish.

"If Imran ​Khan was released tomorrow, hypothetically, he wouldn't do anything that would effectively damage the country," Bukhari said, describing him as "magnanimous".

"That doesn't mean you ⁠go loggerheads with the establishment, with the military leader," he said. "You control your own hurt. You curb your own pain. You swallow it for the betterment of your country."

Bukhari called the Supreme Court ruling a "new ray of hope" and said PTI would comply with the court's instruction that its workers and leaders not gather outside ​the hospital. As of Thursday night, Imran had still not been transferred, and it was unclear if the government would resubmit a challenge that was rejected on technical grounds earlier today.

Bukhari said there were no talks between PTI and the military.

If the army chief woke up "one fine morning" and said: "Enough, I ‌need to show ⁠I'm the father of the nation at the moment", then he could "rub his healing hand on to the country", Bukhari said. "I would feel that every political prisoner would be out within 24 hours."

Analysts cautioned that Imran's thinking may differ from that of the PTI leadership that has escaped arrest.

It's unclear if "PTI's leadership have the capacity, so long as Imran is in jail, to present a common front in any potential engagement or negotiation with the state", ​said Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow at the ​Atlantic Council.

PTI to go ahead with protests ⁠in September

Party leaders last spoke with Imran eight months ago, said Bukhari, who is in self-imposed exile in Dubai.

There have been no recent comments by Imran, who has been kept in what human rights groups have described as solitary confinement.

Since he lost power in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022, Imran has faced multiple legal cases, including over state gifts, instigating violent attacks on military and state installations, and an accusation of an unlawful marriage.

All convictions but one have been suspended or overturned, with appeals pending. He denies wrongdoing.

Despite signs of a careful rapprochement, Bukhari said the PTI would still proceed ⁠with a ​nationwide march on September 27 regardless of whether Imran was transferred to hospital. It would demand implementation of his ​court-ordered treatment, access for his family, doctors, lawyers and party leadership, prompt hearings in his cases and, ultimately, his release.

Read More: PTI decided to hold long march towards Islamabad on Sept 27 after consulting allies: K-P info minister

Senior PTI leaders driven into hiding would participate or help organise the mobilisation, he added.

"You'll probably see a lot of leadership ​come out of hiding," he said. "Even if you don't see them, you'll see them mobilising."