ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday called for the immediate and unconditional release of its incarcerated founding chairman, Imran Khan, arguing that his leadership is essential to address rising tensions with Afghanistan and the resurgence of militancy in the region.
Talking to reporters, PTI spokesman Sheikh Waqas Akram said Khan’s message from Adiala Jail earlier this week was not a plea for personal relief, but an offer to help address the country’s deteriorating security situation.
He described it as a “selfless act of statesmanship” and called on the government to allow Khan to engage in dialogue, potentially on parole, to defuse current tensions with Kabul.
“Imran Khan has the political mandate, strategic foresight, and international recognition needed to navigate Pakistan through this crisis,” he added.
The statement comes amid rising cross-border violence between Pakistani and Afghan security forces and heightened concerns over militancy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
PTI also criticised the government’s handling of Afghan refugee repatriations, calling the process callous and a trigger for humanitarian concerns.
Akram warned that Islamabad’s current foreign policy lacked coherence and had worsened relations with Afghanistan. He urged Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by militant groups, while also stressing that a negotiated settlement – not military action – was the only path to long-term stability.
“Decades of military operations have failed to eliminate terrorism,” he said, adding that genuine peace would require inclusive political engagement, particularly with elected leaders from affected regions.
He condemned the government’s refusal to permit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to meet Khan, calling it “a deliberate attempt to extend political confrontation during a national crisis.”
He also denounced what he described as a “media blackout” of Khan, contrasting it with local television coverage of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Censoring Khan while giving airtime to Netanyahu, who is the killer of Palestinians, reflects the Sharif regime’s moral bankruptcy,” he lamented.
He further criticised the federal government’s failure to implement the National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism, accusing authorities of “napping on NAP,” and demanded the immediate release of development funds for KP and its merged tribal districts.
Citing Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) data, he condemned a sharp rise in police encounters in Punjab, saying over 670 people have been killed in more than 500 incidents since January 2025. “Extrajudicial killings are no substitute for justice,” he said, warning that state violence had become “disturbingly normalized.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.