ISLAMABAD - The incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder, Imran Khan, who blames the military for his ouster and 12-month-old imprisonment on what he calls trumped-up charges, yesterday said that it would be ‘foolish’ not to have ‘excellent’ relations with the army.
On the eve of first anniversary of his jail on dozens of charges ranging from corruption to leaking state secrets, Imran Khan also stated in a statement 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 criticism 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.”
On Wednesday last, Khan had offered to hold “conditional negotiations” with the military — if “clean and transparent” elections were held and the “bogus” cases against his supporters were dropped.