RAWALPINDI/ PESHAWAR: Publicly dismissing Barrister Gohar Khan’s authority to represent the party, Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan Thursday announced the party’s total dissociation with Chairman Barrister Gohar’s statement on army chief’s elevation to the rank of field marshal.
Speaking to the media outside the Adiala jail, Aleema said Barrister Gohar’s statement about the elevation of army chief to field marshal was his personal opinion. “We had already issued the founder’s statement yesterday. If Barrister Gohar Khan paid tribute, it was his personal view, not the party’s position,” she categorically said.
Aleema said the GHQ case was scheduled to be heard in jail, and though they waited for three to four hours, they were not allowed to attend the hearing. She said Imran informed the judge that his sister was standing outside and she should be allowed in, but the judge’s order in this regard was ignored. She alleged that even their meetings were being obstructed.
The PTI founder complained that he was not being allowed to read books or talk to his children, and was being completely isolated.
Aleema said the appointment of chief election commissioner must be done in consultation with the opposition leader. She added that the PTI founder had again warned that Modi will certainly try to create some mischief.
Aleema further said the PTI founder was ready to talk to the establishment for the sake of Pakistan. “Imran said if anyone from within the party talks about negotiations, it will not be accepted,” she said.
Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur Thursday categorically said the PTI will cooperate with the government on the IMF terms only if the party leaders’ meeting with Imran Khan was facilitated.
Speaking to the reporters after meeting with the party founder chairman at the Adiala jail for over two hours, he said if the government did not facilitate their meeting with Imran, they will not lend any cooperation to the government on the IMF terms, reports Mumtaz Alvi.
He also clarified that anything said by Imran was the party’s statement and they were bound to act on it. He said the return of PTI’s mandate was the country’s need. “If negotiations are to be held, then the party founder is ready; our talks and demands are for the Constitution. Our war is on; we will get our founder released at all costs. The PTI founder is resolute and has entrusted me the responsibility again for the protest movement,” the KP chief minister maintained.
Gandapur said their cases should be heard adding that the cases made against Imran Khan were false.
The KP chief minister called for ensuring supremacy of Constitution and restoring what he alleged was a stolen mandate. “Five or six of our people must be allowed to meet the PTI founder for crucial budget discussions,” Gandapur asserted. “If the meeting was denied, we would not cooperate with the government on the IMF terms.”
He disclosed that his meeting with Imran focused on the upcoming budget and the party’s protest movement. He briefed Khan on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa budget, highlighting that his province had met all the IMF targets. “This meeting was critical. Without it, cooperation on the IMF terms would have been impossible.”
Addressing the challenges faced by his party, Gandapur criticized those who “easily criticize” without understanding the ground realities. He also claimed that the PTI received votes from Punjab and Sindh, highlighting the party’s national support. Gandapur condemned drone attacks and announced a jirga (tribal council) meeting in the coming days.
Meanwhile, PTI founder chairman Imran Khan has for the third time refused to undergo polygraph and other forensic tests in the absence of his legal representatives. As a result, a 13-member Punjab Police team got back from the Adiala jail.
The police team, led by DSP Javed Asif, planned to conduct a series of forensic tests on the former prime minister in connection with 11 cases registered across various Lahore police stations related to the May 9 incidents. The tests included polygraph (lie detector), photogrammetric (facial recognition), and voice matching analyses.
Sources in the jail said the police were now considering their next move, as Imran’s refusal to cooperate could significantly hinder the investigation process.
Meanwhile, Sher Afzal Marwat, MNA, Thursday said all protest campaigns of the PTI had failed because of an ‘incompetent and coward’ leadership.
Talking to media persons after attending a hearing in the Peshawar High Court, he said everyone was crying about the leadership being compromised. He said the leadership was making decisions with ill-intentions. He said only competent people could lead a protest movement for the founder’s release. “This leadership is not capable. All our protests have failed. Incompetent and cowardly people have been given PTI’s leadership,” he remarked.
About Aimal Wali, Sher Afzal said, “I may have personal disagreements with Aimal Wali, but I condemn what happened. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority chairman has disrespected the committee. The allegations he has made should be taken notice of by the army chief. People like him are unfit to hold the position of PTA chairman. I support Aimal Wali’s demand to remove the PTA chairman from his post.”
Earlier, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) adjourned hearing in the petitions of Sher Afzal Marwat seeking cancellation of FIRs registered against him.
