Imran Khan offers conditional talks with the military
Published: 04:07 PM,Jul 31,2024 | EDITED : 08:07 PM,Jul 31,2024
Activists and supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party hold posters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan as they take part in a demonstration demanding Khan's release in Peshawar on July 26, 2024.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan has offered to hold 'conditional negotiations' with the powerful military as he serves a year into a jail term that he said he was given on trumped up charges designed to keep him out of power.
Khan did not specify what he wanted to discuss with the military, but in a post on his official X account on Wednesday said that one of the conditions for negotiations was that 'clean and transparent' elections be held and that 'bogus' cases against his supporters be dropped.
He said he had appointed Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a close political ally and a known critic of the military, to represent him in any talks.
The military has previously ruled out talks with Khan.
'We will hold conditional negotiations if the military leadership appoints its representative,' Khan said on X.
'The country is under an undeclared martial law,' he added.
'We prefer negotiations with the military leadership, who are the actual decision-makers,' he said, adding that he refused to sit with the 'puppet' government for any talks.
In response to Khan's offer, the military released a video clip from a May 7 media conference in which its spokesman, Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said it was not possible to sit with 'any political ideology, any political leader, or any political group who is involved in attacks on its own army'.
Khan did not specify what he wanted to discuss with the military, but in a post on his official X account on Wednesday said that one of the conditions for negotiations was that 'clean and transparent' elections be held and that 'bogus' cases against his supporters be dropped.
He said he had appointed Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a close political ally and a known critic of the military, to represent him in any talks.
The military has previously ruled out talks with Khan.
'We will hold conditional negotiations if the military leadership appoints its representative,' Khan said on X.
'The country is under an undeclared martial law,' he added.
'We prefer negotiations with the military leadership, who are the actual decision-makers,' he said, adding that he refused to sit with the 'puppet' government for any talks.
In response to Khan's offer, the military released a video clip from a May 7 media conference in which its spokesman, Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said it was not possible to sit with 'any political ideology, any political leader, or any political group who is involved in attacks on its own army'.