Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has said he is ready for talks but conspirators who want to ban his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) are not ready for a dialogue amid the growing political uncertainty in the neighbouring country.
“Right now, no dialogue is happening. I am a politician and I am always ready for talks. Some people want to ban my party and that’s why they don’t want any dialogue,” Khan said.
Asked whether he will go back to the national assembly, Khan said: “My party will go to the assembly after the Lahore High Court judgment.”
Speaking to news agency AFP, Khan, whose arrest on graft charges sparked a nation-wide deadly unrest, said “the current army chief clearly has some problems with me” as he denied reports of any talks with Pakistan’s military.
The cricket-turned-politician also said the government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is “scared" to face his party in general elections due no later than October.
In his interview, Khan said last week’s violence was a “conspiracy" staged to justify repression of his PTI party. “There were elements who deliberately incited violence, they were not part of a party," he said. “This pretext was used to crack down on a party.”
However, an undeterred Khan said political parties cannot be destroyed by banning or disqualifying. “Once people are with you, you are not dependent on candidates or names. If anything, what will keep this country together is my party," he said.
Amid a raging war of words with Pakistan’s military establishment, the former prime minister seemed to strike a conciliatory note. “Believe me, there is no issue from my side," he said. “The fact is, no one wants to fight with your own army.”
Khan came to power in 2018 with the support of the military but was shown the door via a parliamentary no-confidence vote last April after skirmishes with the top brass on the issues of appointments and foreign policy.
(With AFP inputs)