New Delhi: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has finally broken his silence on the Pahalgam terror attack from jail.
In a message posted on X on Tuesday, Khan expressed condolences over the “deeply disturbing and tragic” loss of life in Pahalgam. But the message quickly pivoted from condolence to muscle-flexing.
“Instead of introspection and investigation, Modi Sarkar is again placing the blame on Pakistan,” he said. He warned that peace shouldn’t be mistaken for cowardice, and that Pakistan remains fully “capable” of clapping back. India needs to act responsibly instead of messing with a region already known as “nuclear flashpoint”, he said.
The former PM’s week-late dispatch from jail has sparked conspiracy theories and concerns over incorrect grammar. His critics see it as yet another instance of the PTI leader making everything about himself. Pakistanis are convinced his message is more a “hire me” signal to the army than a political mic drop moment from behind bars.
But Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporters are cheering his “roar of defiance”. His tweet resulted in an outpouring of love for their leader and calls to #FreeKhanToLeadPakistan.
On social media, his supporters argue that the Pakistan army will use the furore around the Pahalgam terror attack in the country to “eliminate Imran Khan”.
“What if, in the distraction created by the fauj over this India-Pakistan situation, if [Pakistan general] Asim Munir wants to get rid of Imran Khan? What if this false flag is actually a false flag to minus IK?” a PTI supporter wrote.
Who wrote the tweet?
Meanwhile, in his message, Khan also took customary jabs at political rivals Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari, accusing them of staying quiet on India to protect their offshore accounts. According to Khan, their silence is less diplomacy and more asset management.
“It is naive to expect any strong stance from self-serving figures like Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari. They will never speak out against India because their illegal wealth and business interests lie abroad. Their fear is simple: that Indian lobbies might freeze their offshore assets if they dare to speak the truth,” his tweet read.
Some Pakistanis accused Khan of hijacking a national moment for a personal comeback campaign.
“After what the military has done over the past 3 years but especially after 9th May, even Imran Khan as a democratically elected PM can’t put the people back to doing “Pak army Zindabaad”. The more IK will do fauj bhi meri mulk bhi mera, the more he’ll lose support,” a Pakistani user named Hassan Ghaddar wrote.
Others simply couldn’t get past the grammatical errors in the tweet. Typos, odd phrasing, and capitalisation chaos had many wondering: Did Imran Khan even write this?
“This statement was always going to be read all over the world, the very least they could do was to proofread it before posting,” said Hamza, a Pakistani academic.
Amid all the furore over his statement, one user decided to highlight the obvious: “jail main beth kar bhe twitter use kar raha hai (he’s using X while sitting in jail).”