‘Saudis in contact with US over Imran Khan,’ claims journalist

Senior journalist Muneeb Farooq has claimed that Saudi authorities do not like Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and are “in contact with” their American counterparts over him.

“Saudi Arabia has sent messages to the US. The Saudis are already in contact with the upcoming US administration and they [Saudis] do not have any affection for Imran Khan,” Farooq said in a video on his YouTube channel, referring to recent social media posts by members of the upcoming US administration, who publicly expressed support for incarcerated Khan.

PTI leadership and party supporters have pinned their hopes on the upcoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump ever since the Republican nominee swept the polls in November 2024. Pakistani political atmosphere was hit by a storm when Trump's nominee for Presidential Envoy on Special Missions Richard Grenell openly called for Khan’s release in December.

Farooq’s claims come weeks after Khan’s spouse Bushra Bibi stirred a political storm by accusing Saudi Arabia of playing a role in her husband’s ouster from power back in 2022.

In a rare appearance ahead of PTI’s unsuccessful November 24 protests, the former first lady released a video statement alleging that Saudi leadership wanted Khan out and had expressed their reservations to then army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

“The reason behind all powers standing against Khan hasn’t been told before. When Khan went to Madinah barefoot, Bajwa immediately started receiving calls about what kind of person he had brought [with him],” she had said.

According to Bushra’s allegations, Saudi leadership told Gen Bajwa that he had brought with him the “custodian of Shariah” at a time they were trying to “distance themselves from the Shariah system”. “After this, a smear campaign was launched against us and [they] started calling Khan a Jewish agent," the former first lady had claimed.

Members of the government had condemned Bushra Bibi’s claims and called it an attempt to harm Pakistan’s relations with a critical ally.

The blowback had prompted Khan’s official X account to claim that his wife’s statement had “deliberately been taken out of context”.

“She didn't mention Saudi Arabia at all. My government was toppled through conspiracies, all orchestrated by General Bajwa,” the statement had added.

It further said that bilateral relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were at their best during his tenure and he personally shared “excellent” relations with the Kingdom’s leadership. “I have excellent relations with Saudi Arabia. When I was attacked in Wazirabad, one of the first calls I received was through the embassy from HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.”

Journalist Muneeb Farooq is known for accurately predicting political developments in Pakistan. He has also time and again been credited with breaking major news stories. Check out what he had to say about the country’s political landscape in an exclusive interview with The Current: