The founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan has stressed the importance of maintaining good relations with the military establishment, saying it would be “foolish” not to do so.
In a written response to questions from Reuters at Adiala Prison, where he will mark a year in prison on August 5, Mr Khan reiterated his belief that strengthening ties with the military establishment was essential.
He stressed the importance of such a relationship given Pakistan’s geopolitical location and the military’s crucial role in the country’s private sector.
The PTI founder has not expressed any personal grievances against the United States, although he claims the US played a role in his ouster in a 2022 no-confidence vote.
“Given Pakistan’s strategic position and the important role the military plays, fostering better relations is not only wise but necessary,” Khan said.
He also made clear that his criticism was aimed at specific military leaders and not the establishment as a whole.
“We should not hold the military leadership responsible for the miscalculation against the establishment,” he added.
Khan’s comments come amid rising political tensions. On Wednesday, he suggested he would be willing to enter into “conditional negotiations” with the military, provided there were transparent elections and “false” cases against his party members were withdrawn.
In his statement to Reuters, Khan did not specify the terms of possible discussions with the military, but stressed his openness to any dialogue that could ease Pakistan’s current political and economic crises.
“Dealing with those who exercise real power is more productive than negotiating with a government we consider illegitimate,” he said.
Imran Khan deems it ‘foolish’ to ignore good ties with army
