KHAN WOULD NOT CONFRONT PAKISTAN ARMY CHIEF IF FREED: REPORT

Thu 20 August 2026:

Jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan would not confront the military or army chief Asim Munir if released, one of his closest aides told Reuters.

The aide portrayed Munir as capable of extending a “healing hand” following a legal breakthrough this week. The remarks came after Pakistan’s top court ordered Khan to be transferred to hospital for medical treatment and appeared to signal a significant shift in rhetoric by his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Its supporters have for years rallied against Munir, who is seen by them as the man who jailed Khan in 2023 after he fell out with the military leadership. Khan, a former cricket hero, himself has described Munir as “mentally unstable”.

But in an interview on Wednesday, Khan aide Zulfikar Bukhari, a PTI spokesperson, sent one of the strongest signals so far that the party was willing to reconcile with the military, potentially easing one of the tensest stand-offs in recent Pakistani political history, even as doubts remained whether Khan himself shared that wish.

“If Imran Khan was released tomorrow, hypothetically, he wouldn’t do anything that would effectively damage the country,” Bukhari said, describing him as “magnanimous”.

“That doesn’t mean you ⁠go loggerheads with the establishment, with the military leader,” he said. “You control your own hurt. You curb your own pain. You swallow it for the betterment of your country.”

Analysts cautioned that Imran Khan’s views may differ from those of the PTI leadership that has avoided arrest. They noted that Pakistani authorities have largely dismantled the party’s organisational structure, with many of its former senior officials still imprisoned.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered authorities to transfer jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, 73, from prison to a private hospital within 48 hours.

Analysts widely interpreted the ruling as a potential first step toward easing tensions between the military and Khan’s party, even if only temporarily.

Bukhari called the ruling a “new ray of hope” and said PTI would comply with the court’s instruction that its workers and leaders not gather outside the hospital. As of Thursday afternoon, Khan had still not been transferred and it was unclear if the government would resubmit a challenge that was rejected on technical grounds earlier on Thursday.

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Since he lost power in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022, Khan has faced multiple legal cases, including over state gifts, instigating violent attacks on military and state installations, and an accusation of an unlawful marriage.

All convictions but one have been suspended or overturned, with appeals pending. He denies wrongdoing.

Khan’s initial arrest in May 2023 sparked protests that saw hundreds of people attacking state buildings and rampaging through military installations.

His supporters have similarly ⁠taken to the streets on several occasions in the years since to demand his release.

Cricket greats from around the world, including from across the border in rival India, demanded better treatment for Khan in February, expressing “deep concern” about his prison conditions.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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