No negotiations with establishment, Imran tells party leaders

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder and former prime minister Imran Khan has instructed party leadership to halt negotiations with the establishment.

“The more we retreat, the more they crush us. This is the policy of the ‘third umpire,’ not the establishment. They want to crush us just like the Palestinians,” he said.

Speaking to the media at Adiala jail, Imran Khan said that he had completed one year in detention. He described the difficult conditions in jail, saying, “During the summer, I would sweat so much that my clothes would rot. They don’t know the resilience that comes from being a sportsman.”

Imran Khan compared Pakistan’s current situation to Japan’s recovery after World War II, stating, “Japan was hit by two atomic bombs, yet it rose again within 10 years because its institutions were not destroyed. Here, three mafias are destroying the country’s future and institutions for their own extension.”

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When asked about Raoof Hasan’s statement that negotiations with the establishment were party policy, Imran Khan clarified, “There is no use in negotiating with the establishment. I’ve told everyone—there is no point in negotiating. Raoof Hasan tried to meet me two or three times in jail but he was not allowed.”

He reiterated that after the September 8 rally, he made it clear there would be no negotiations. “All leaders, including Ali Amin Gandapur, have been given the same instructions — there will be no negotiations with the establishment.

“The Hamudur Rahman Commission report clearly shows how one man destroyed the country’s democracy for power,” he said

Talking about the fall of Dhaka, he said, “Billions of dollars were lost, 90,000 prisoners were taken, 50,000 Pakistanis were killed, and the world witnessed our humiliation. Yet the Hamudur Rahman Commission report was hidden. We must learn from that report.”

The former prime minister said that instaed of a public rally, they will satge a protest in Rawalpindi on Saturday, emphasizing that they would not seek permission for this. The PTI founder said that “Our lawyers will also protest outside the Supreme Court tomorrow.”

“Qazi Faez Isa is one of their players, Sikandar Sultan Raja is another, and the third umpire is the captain controlling everything. Qazi Faez Isa was supposed to protect fundamental rights, but he’s failed us.”

Imran Khan lamented that many party members had been imprisoned for 16 months without trial. “Despite their illness, Mahmoodur Rashid and Ijaz Chaudhry remain in jail. Qazi Faez Isa has not initiated a single judicial inquiry.

“Instead of handing power to the party that won, our offices are being raided, and our people are being arrested. The person who shouted at Qazi Faez Isa was put behind bars which is shameful. Societies are governed by morals, not by force.”

Regarding the case of 190 million pounds, he said, “It has generated 20 billion in profit, yet it has never been proven that this was criminal money. I have never benefited from the Al-Qadir Trust.

In response to a journalist’s question, Imran Khan explained that the land was donated by a property tycoon to the trust. Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari could not form a trust during their 40 years in power?

Imran Khan also mentioned he had no acquaintance with Justice Mansoor Ali Shah. “The Constitution states that the senior-most judge should be the chief justice but it is yet to be announced as Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, whose appointment was announced three months ago, is retiring in three months. They are delaying the announcement regarding the appointment of Mansoor Ali Shah, who is the most senior.”

He also questioned what Qazi Faez Isa had done regarding the threats received by Islamabad High Court judges.