Imran Khan writes to army chief; says entire nation stands with armed forces

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhry on Monday claimed that the jailed former prime minister (PM) has written a six-point letter to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir.

“Imran Khan, as a party supremo and former premier, has written a six-point letter to the army chief, expressing solidarity with the military in its fight against terrorism, and acknowledging the sacrifices made by our soldiers,” Chaudhry said while speaking to media outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

Chaudhry said Khan’s letter maintained that the entire nation was standing with its armed forces, and also highlighted for Gen Munir the issue of “fraudulent elections”, the controversial Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and 26th amendments besides the Al-Qadir Trust case verdict against him.

The letter brought to the army chief’s attention all cases of terrorism against political leaders and the use of force against PTI workers, Khan’s lawyer said, adding that it also expressed concern over intelligence agencies’ operations and the country’s economy.

Chaudhry further said that Khan, in the letter, urged the army chief to reconsider policies and called for the formation of a judicial commission.

The development comes weeks after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Ali Amin Gandapur and PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan met Gen Asim Munir. While speaking to media outside an Adiala Jail courtroom on January 16, Gohar had confirmed the meeting and shared the details of the same.

“Ali Amin Gandapur and I held a meeting with the COAS, during which we outlined all of PTI’s concerns and priorities,” he had said.

Ex-PM Khan had also confirmed the development to reporters, saying that Gohar had met the army chief in Peshawar.

Days after this, prominent journalist Mansoor Ali Khan had revealed that PTI chief Gohar had once again held a meeting with army officials between January 21 and 22.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Mansoor, while revealing details of the meeting, stated that PTI demanded the release of incarcerated Khan, urging the establishment not to try him in military courts.

 Without naming names, he said, “A federal minister was also present in the meeting along with an intelligence officer. However, Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir was not there this time.”

According to Mansoor Ali Khan, PTI leaders tried to discuss the role of the chief secretary of KP in the province. However, the meeting attendees refused to discuss it. “During the gathering, the discussion about the Public Accounts Committee also took place,” he said while referring to the recent unopposed appointment of Junaid Akbar as PAC chairman.

As per the journalist, Gohar, along with the army officials, expressed a wish to hold another meeting in the last week of January or the first week of February, which both sides agreed upon. However, no time frame for the next meeting was announced.

Terming the meeting cordial, Mansoor stated that the meeting attendees did not behave aggressively, and there was no row during the gathering.