- Says PTI founding chairman will continue struggle for a ‘fairer and better state’
- Says actions against party candidates and lawyers only increased its popularity
PESHAWAR: Senior PTI figure and former KP minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra has said that the former premier, despite being mired in innumerable cases and undergoing jail, will neither accept a “deal,” nor will he leave Pakistan for a ‘comfortable life abroad.’
“The Imran Khan I know, as he said, will not accept any deal, or accept to leave Pakistan to make his life more comfortable,” he said during in an exclusive interview with Arab News.
“Imran Khan will continue his struggle for the political rights of ordinary Pakistanis and for a fairer and better state till his last day.”
Jhagra said the recent actions against their candidates and lawyers only increased his party’s popularity among the masses.
“Many people have left the party because of this crackdown, some voluntarily and some literally being forced after being disappeared for days or weeks. Even those who left voluntarily did not leave happily,” he told Arab News.
“The government is campaigning for us, every person they put in jail, every lawyer whose paper they tear, every lawyer that they abuse, every time and try to impose their will on the people of Pakistan, they campaign for us.”
The fate of politicians in Pakistan has historically rested on their relationship with the country’s powerful military, which has directly ruled the South Asian nation on several occasions.
Since his ouster, Khan, who rose to power in 2018 with what political analysts say was the support of the military, has maintained the generals had conspired with Washington and his political rivals to end his term. The military, Khan’s opponents and Washington have denied the claims.
In the months after his ouster, the ex-premier was able to draw huge crowds at rallies where he publicly touted diplomatic documents as evidence for his claims, waging an unprecedented campaign of defiance against the military.
His brief arrest in a graft case on May 9 sparked unrest in the South Asian country that resulted in a crackdown on Khan’s PTI party, which saw several senior PTI figures defect, be arrested or driven underground.
Jhagra maintained that Khan was their only leader as he denied reports about the stage being set for PTI vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi to lead the party in the upcoming elections.
“Imran Khan is, was and will be the leader of this party and the biggest political leader, certainly in the modern political history of Pakistan,” he said.
“Shah Mahmood Qureshi, our vice-chairman, has shown incredible courage in jail and I refuse to believe that he is part of a plan with anyone… to try and take over the party.”
To a question whether Khan was in favor of talks with other political parties or an alliance, the PTI leader said they could only have talks on the elections and democracy. “Let the best man or woman win, and then let them lead Pakistan to progress in a mature political environment,” he said.
About the allegations of his party’s support for the resettlement of Pakistani Taliban militants in the country’s tribal northwest, Jhagra said it was a “joint civil-military decision” and that civilian governments in Pakistan had a limited say in this regard.
“The tackling of militancy is a joint civil-military decision. It is not just a decision of any political party. And traditionally political parties and political governments have had only a certain amount of space in making these decisions,” he told Arab News.
“So, I think the accusation against PTI of basically going with a strategy of resettling militants in KP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) or Pakistan was just part of political campaigns.”
