New Delhi: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been in prison for a year now. And it has been a year of U-turns. From making nice with the Pakistan Army to running the party from jail to no more blaming the US—Khan has said it all in interviews with The Economist, The Guardian, and Reuters.
In an exclusive interview with the Independent from jail, Khan had compared himself to Gandhi and Mandela. In another, he said, “After 11 months in prison, I am certain that this ordeal was orchestrated solely by General Bajwa.”
A week is a long time in politics. A year in jail has been longer for Khan.
‘Conditional negotiations’
It has been one year since Khan was imprisoned on charges ranging from corruption to leaking state secrets. The past year has seen the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) head blame the military, have his party symbol taken away, witness a near-majority win as Independents, and refuse to engage with opponents outright, to now ‘being proud’ of the Army.
The jailed PM Sunday told reporters that it would be ‘foolish’ not to have an excellent relationship with the Army.
He also stated in written responses to Reuters that he bears no ill will toward the United States. Despite blaming Washington for his 2022 removal from office, Khan emphasised the importance of maintaining strong relations, Reuters reported.
As Khan remains behind bars, his attempts to negotiate with the military have been marked by a refusal to engage with what he terms the “puppet, mafia regime,” further complicating the political deadlock.
Making a complete U-turn, however, he has now stated that his comments were directed at individuals and not the military as a whole. “The miscalculations of the military leadership shouldn’t be held against the institution as a whole,” he said.
This comes after Khan’s proposal of “conditional negotiations” with the military last week, provided it appoints a representative. He has declined to engage with politicians directly. This offer was communicated via a post on his X account.
Khan’s conditions for negotiations included holding “clean and transparent” elections and dropping the “bogus” charges against his supporters. He designated Mahmood Khan Achakzai, head of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, to represent him in these discussions.
The Army is yet to respond to the offer.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government was quick to accuse Khan of “pleading” for talks with the military and suggested that he should apologise for his previous criticisms of the institution.
On the contrary, senior journalist Hamid Mir is of the view that Khan is not showing a willingness to speak with the military just for some relief.
“He already refused a deal with Generals which was offered to him through one of his close party officials. He is actually trying to discredit Sharif by saying that the PM and his cabinet are powerless. It’s better to speak with the Army directly,” he told ThePrint.
He added that through his actions, Khan is giving a message to the Army jawans that he is not against the institution; he is against a few Generals.
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Khan central to Pakistani politics
The political landscape in Pakistan has been tumultuous since Khan’s ouster.
Khan’s imprisonment in Rawalpindi came amid a whirlwind of allegations. Initially sentenced for corruption, the list of charges against him quickly expanded to include treason, illicit marriage, and inciting violence following his first arrest on 9 May 2023.
His convictions led to nearly three decades in prison, but higher courts overturned these verdicts by July 2023. Khan now remains incarcerated, facing additional charges of corruption and anti-state violence. He has been acquitted in all other cases.
Khan’s supporters, rallying against the perceived military-backed regime, have faced severe crackdowns.
Protests erupted across the country when Khan was arrested, leading to violent clashes and attacks on military buildings. The military’s response has been relentless, with senior PTI leaders either defecting or going underground.
Following the events, Pakistani media companies were instructed to stop displaying Khan’s image, mentioning his name, or broadcasting his voice. Although he was briefly released, he was imprisoned again on 5 August for failing to properly disclose the sale of state gifts in the Toshakhana case.
In response to the unrest, social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has largely been suspended in Pakistan since February, and PTI’s attempts to organise street protests have been frequently stifled.
Despite the challenges, PTI-backed candidates secured the most seats in the general elections held on 8 February this year. The party has also succeeded in keeping both Khan and other political issues prominent on the international stage.
Last month, a United Nations-backed panel declared that Khan’s detention was arbitrary.
Although the Sharif government appears to have retreated from its recent threat to ban PTI over alleged anti-state activities, several of the party’s spokespersons and members of its social media teams remain in custody, facing charges of anti-state propaganda and terrorism.
Faisal Chaudhry, the Supreme Court lawyer fighting Khan’s cases, termed it ‘a classic case of politically motivated prosecution’.
“The government/prosecution agencies have not been able to prove one single charge against him [Khan] since his incarceration. All the cases against him lack basic merits. As far as politics in Pakistan is concerned, it is incomplete without Khan. He has become too big to be ignored right now. The sooner the government realises it, the better.”
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)