RAWALPINDI: Despite waiting for talks with stakeholders in power, jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has predicted that the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government has only two months left to run. government.
“The government is running into a quagmire, but they [the rulers] are fools and are unable to understand it,” he said in an informal interview with reporters in a makeshift courtroom inside Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail on Thursday.
“I am predicting this from jail that this government has only two months,” the PTI founder said, adding that he has enough time but incumbents are running out of time.
Referring to his statement on Wednesday about a conditional apology for the May 9 riots, the former prime minister said there was a wrong impression that he was seeking an unconditional apology.
Violent protests saw attacks on public property, including military installations, in many parts of the country, prompting the civilian and military leadership to try the rioters under the Army Act.
The cricketer-turned-politician said his party “only wants justice in the May 9 [event]”. Elaborating on his offer to start a dialogue, Khan said he made the offer to hold talks only in the interest of the country.
“I will not make any deal no matter how many cases they register against us,” he said, adding that those who have committed any wrongdoing are seeking a deal.
He also clarified that he has not yet received any offer to negotiate.
Politico has claimed it will produce a witness in the Al-Qadir Trust case – also known as the £190m National Crime Agency (NCA) scandal, which is said to have cost the exchequer £190m.
However, he did not release the name of the witness because he feared that the witness would be kidnapped if he revealed his identity.
He further said that his party would not accept the elections if they were held under the supervision of the incumbent government.
A day earlier, the PTI founder linked an apology for the May 9 riots with video evidence of the May 9 incidents and said he would not only apologize but also sack party members if their involvement was proven through CCTV footage.
The PTI chief, who was lodged in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, has repeatedly distanced his party from the protests, claiming that the riots were pre-planned and staged to launch a crackdown on the opposition party.
“I will be sacked and I myself will ask for punishment of PTI members if they are found involved [in the May 9 incidents],” he said.
The jailed party founder also referred to a recent press briefing by Director General Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry, saying the top military spokesman said the anti-Pakistan campaign was being financed by mafias.
The Pakistan Army is a national institution and it is the responsibility of every Pakistani to defend it, the embattled leader said.
The PTI founder said he was seeking talks with the establishment in the interest of the country, adding that he would not act unless the other side was interested.
On Monday, the ISPR DG dismissed reports of talks with the PTI leadership, saying there was no change in the Pakistan Army’s stance on the May 9 violent protests.
“The Army’s position on [May 9] is clear, which was expressed in a press conference on May 7 [2024].
