PTI Chairman Barrister Ghar Ali Khan on Wednesday said that former Prime Minister Imran Khan has offered to solve the ongoing hostilities between Afghanistan and Pakistan if he is released on parole.
Imran has been imprisoned since August 2023, is serving a sentence at a Diyala jail in Pakistan. Imran Khan is also pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the Mehran protest.
There has been an escalating border tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan following a series of terrorist attacks on Pakistan’s armed forces in the northwestern province of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan blames the interim Afghan government of Afghanistan of providing hideouts to TTP and accuses Afghan soil of being used for terrorist activities in Pakistan.
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Addressing a press conference outside, a temporary ceasefire has been announced by both Kabul and Islamabad following a week-long fighting that has resulted in loss of lives on both sides of the border. Addressing a press conference outside Diyala jail after a meeting with Imran Khan, Barrister Gauhar said, “Today, Imran has sent this message: ‘I offer you people that release me on parole and I will solve the Afghanistan problem for you.’”
Imran Khan’s sister, Noreen Niaz,i also made a similar comment that the PTI founder was pained by the repatriation of Afghan refugees in haste after Pakistan hosted them for decades. As per Noreen, Imran said it was the job of the politicians to achieve peace and had offered to play his part in the endeavour if he was released on parole.
“They should think because the conditions of Pakistan have become such that three million people have left the country, multi-national companies are leaving the country, and there is no foreign investment in Pakistan. He [Imran] says there is a need for peace and that only comes with political stability,” she said.
However, Imran Khan’s sister said that the former Prime Minister would never be taken up on his offer. Imran Khan has long been advocating for solving the ongoing hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan through dialogue.