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Arab News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan's Imran Khan orders party to stay silent on infighting, focus on protests
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday urged party members to put aside their grievances amid reports of rifts within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and focus on the ongoing protest movement, reiterating that the time for negotiations with the government 'has passed.' Reports of a rift within the party began to emerge after Ali Amin Gandapur, a close Khan aide and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister, announced on July 13 that a 90-day 'do-or-die' protest drive against the government is underway. The protest call, however, appeared to contradict an earlier call for a nationwide protest posted on Khan's official X account, set to culminate on August 5. The day marks the second anniversary of the former prime minister's imprisonment on corruption charges. Speculation of conflicts within the party further grew after senior PTI leader and Punjab Chief Organizer Aliya Hamza Malik publicly voiced concerns on X about a lack of clarity around the campaign. Malik questioned the origin of the 90-day plan and asked for details on the party's strategy to secure Khan's release. According to a statement shared from his official X account, Khan told his family and lawyers at Adiala Jail where he is imprisoned, that he and others from the PTI are currently undergoing 'some of the harshest imprisonments.' 'Therefore, I direct every member of the party to put aside all personal grievances,' the statement read. 'Publicly airing internal matters or individual concerns before the media is entirely unacceptable.' Khan instructed his party members, both juniors and seniors, to avoid sharing 'internal differences' on social media, electronic media, print media or other platforms, urging them to 'focus exclusively' on the protest movement. 'If any party official fails to participate in this movement, I will make the final decision about them myself, even from within jail,' he warned. The cricketer-turned-politician directed the PTI leadership to decide about nominations for the party's Senate tickets through 'mutual consultation.' Khan urged his party supporters to continue protesting against the government. 'The time for negotiations has passed,' the statement said. 'What remains now is the time for the nation to rise in protest.' Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar last week dismissed the party's protest call as a 'political gimmick.' 'PTI has lost street power and its credibility, and is heading toward irrelevance,' the minister said. Khan was ousted from the PM's office in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 and jailed in August 2023. Since then, the PTI has repeatedly mobilized street protests, including a large march to Islamabad in November 2024, to demand his release and challenge the legitimacy of the February 2024 general election. The government accuses the PTI of using the protests to incite instability and disrupt efforts at economic recovery. Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari said earlier this week that peaceful protest was a democratic right of every individual. However, she accused the PTI of abusing that right in the past. 'PTI has a history of violence and anarchy,' she told reporters. 'No political party is allowed to attack with weapons as Pakistan is our red line.' Hundreds of PTI supporters were arrested after riots allegedly incited by the party against the military on May 9, 2023. The government also says four soldiers were killed in November protests last year. PTI denies the charges.
The Independent
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Imran Khan's party appeals for his immediate release fearing drone attack by India
Imran Khan 's political party has petitioned the court for his urgent release from jail, claiming he could potentially be targeted in Indian drone strikes amid escalating tensions between the two countries. The 72-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been lodged in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for almost two years while he contests a series of legal challenges, mostly involving corruption charges, all of which he claimed were politically motivated. Mr Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said a plea has been filed on Friday in the Islamabad High Court to seek his release on parole during a 'national emergency' as India and Pakistan's military exchanged volleys of drones and shells. Zulfikar Bukhari, a close aide of Mr Khan and party spokesperson, told The Independent that the first and foremost priority for PTI and Pakistan should be the safety of the 'popular leader'. PTI said they were hopeful for his release. 'At the moment, in troubling times like this, when we're at the verge of a full-scale conflict with our neighbour India, it's important that the most popular man in the country – who the country unites behind – is released and at the forefront,' Mr Bukhari said on telephone from the UK. 'We are hopeful that, for the sake of national integrity and unity, the petition is accepted.' Military hostilities between India and Pakistan reached the brink overnight as soldiers from both sides fired a number of drones and missiles, a day after Delhi launched missiles into Pakistan to strike terror hideouts. The Indian Army said it 'repulsed' multiple Pakistani drone attacks last night along its entire western border, after air raid sirens were heard in several Indian cities. Pakistan, however, denied carrying out the attacks at India's military installation. Islamabad vowed to strike back in response to India's predawn strikes on 7 May that killed 31 people, including children. India said it struck "terrorist camps" inside Pakistan in retaliation for a deadly attack on Hindu tourists in Kashmir's popular tourist spot of Pahalgam last month. Villagers have fled border areas in both countries and many cities have been hit with blackouts, air raid warnings, and panic buying of essentials. India has suspended its prestigious Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament after one match was stopped midway on Thursday and the floodlights switched off. Mr Bukhari claimed India sent 'about 70 or 80 drones into Pakistan' and 'any flying object in the air is a risk for Imran Khan and other prisoners'. 'We are quite worried. Hence, we want him to be moved to a safer location.' According to the petition, the PTI is seeking his release as 'Pakistan faces unprovoked aggression from the (Narendra) Modi-led Indian government, threatening national security, and different drone attacks on different cities of Pakistan'. The Indian Army said on Friday that Pakistani troops had resorted to "numerous cease fire violations" along the countries' de-facto border in Kashmir, accusing them of carrying out drone attacks. "The drone attacks were effectively repulsed and befitting reply was given to the CFVs (ceasefire violations)," the Indian Army said, adding all "nefarious designs" would be responded to with "force". PTI claimed the border tensions have the potential to endanger Mr Khan's life because during his term as prime minister he openly challenged the Indian prime minister on various national security issues. The two countries have a history of animosities that have rippled into full fledged wars and cross-border firings over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir region which is split between Pakistan and India but claimed by both in its entirety. They have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from Britain in 1947 as New Delhi has accused Islamabad of flaming terrorism in its side of Kashmir, a claim repeatedly denied by the neighbouring leadership. The ties between India and Pakistan during Mr Khan's leadership further worsened after an Indian counter-terrorism operation. In 2019 India conducted air strikes on what it said was a militant training camp near the Pakistani town of Balakot in response to a suicide car bombing in Kashmir's Pulwama area. Pakistan, which said the planes had bombed an empty hillside and not a camp, launched a retaliatory incursion into Indian airspace that led to a dogfight between the two air forces, leading to the capture of an Indian pilot. Mr Khan also condemned Indian government at various United Nations platforms after India revoked the semi autonomous status of the federal Indian territory in August 2019.
