- Verdict in Al-Qadir Trust case has nothing to do with negotiation: Khan
- Aleema reiterates to Khan to face the cases rather than accept a deal.
- PTI entered dialogue process for ‘broader interest of the country’: lawyer
Jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan on Monday said the verdict in the ₹190 million Al-Qadir Trust case would have no impact. impact on the ongoing dialogue, as quoted by his sister Aleema Khan.
“This verdict has nothing to do with the (PTI) negotiating committees (and the process),” Aleema was quoted as saying on Monday after meeting her brother at Adiala Prison in Rawalpindi.
Last week, an accountability court in Rawalpindi convicted PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in a high-profile corruption case, triggering speculation about the future of ongoing talks between the government and the former ruling party.
Justice Nasir Javed Rana imposed a 14-year prison sentence on the PTI founder and seven years in prison on his wife in the case.
The 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been behind bars since August last year after being convicted in the Toshakhana-I case, one of dozens of cases registered against the former prime minister since his ouster from power in April 2022.
While interacting with reporters today, Aleema said Khan saw the verdict as a pressure tactic aimed at forcing him to make a deal (on the government’s terms).
She reiterated that her brother would face legal action rather than reach a deal. Responding to a question, she said the verdict in the £190million case had become a “joke” around the world.
She also criticized Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for her remarks and intentions regarding Al-Qadir University.
For his part, Advocate Faisal Hussain Chaudhry, Khan’s lawyer, said the PTI had entered the dialogue process in the “broader interest of the country”.
He clarified that they were not seeking relief for their supporters but the right to a fair trial.
The lawyer also urged the jail authorities to hold the next meeting between PTI leaders and the ex-prime minister in an open environment.
The PTI leadership claimed that their (last) meeting with Khan took place in a “controlled environment”.
For his part, PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui, who is also the spokesperson of the government’s negotiating committee, denied media reports claiming that the ruling alliance had refused to constitute a judicial commission to investigate on the events of May 9 and November 26.
Speaking to Geo News in Parliament, Siddiqui said they had shared the PTI’s draft demands with the coalition allies.
The seven allied parties were reviewing the former ruling party’s demands, he said, hoping to receive their response in the next two to three days.