Asif Shahzad
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s former prime minister, Imran Khan, serving a one-year prison sentence on charges he says were trumped up to help him escape power, has offered to enter into “conditional negotiations” with the powerful military.
Khan did not say what he wanted to discuss with the military, but in a post on his official X account on Wednesday he said one of the conditions for any talks was that “clean and transparent” elections be held and that “false” cases against his supporters be dropped.
He said he had appointed Mahmud Khan Achakzai, a close political ally and known critic of the military, to represent him in any negotiations.
The military has previously denied having met with Khan.
“We will hold conditional negotiations once the military leadership appoints its representatives,” Khan said at the X conference.
“The country is under undeclared martial law,” he added.
“We want to negotiate with the military leadership, who are the real decision-makers,” he said, adding that he refused to have a “puppet” government sit in on any talks.
Responding to Khan’s offer, the military released a video clip of a May 7 press conference in which military spokesman Maj. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the military could not sit down “with any political ideology, any political leader or any political group that is involved in attacks on our troops.”
The military alleges Khan and his party were behind attacks on military facilities during mass protests against his detention last year. Khan has blamed the military for his ouster in a parliamentary no-confidence motion in 2022, a charge the military denies.
The military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 76-year history and played a key role in politics, says it will not get involved in government affairs.
Khan has been jailed since August last year on dozens of charges ranging from corruption to leaking state secrets.
His imprisonment has added to political instability in Pakistan, which is facing an economic crisis and is receiving a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party claim the charges are politically motivated to block his return to power.
PTI-backed candidates performed better than expected in general elections earlier this year, and a court recently ruled that they were eligible for extra seats, but it was not yet enough to rule completely.
