Daily Times

Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid claimed on Thursday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan is unlikely to be released from prison soon.

“They won’t allow the PTI founder to be released at this moment,” Rashid said while addressing the media at a district and sessions court in Islamabad.

Rashid’s comments come as Khan, who has been serving various sentences and has been in jail since August of last year, might be freed if a district and sessions court rules in his favor in his plea to suspend his sentence in the iddat case today.

The former prime minister, who has previously received relief in the £190 million reference, cipher, and Toshakhana cases, was sentenced to seven years along with his wife Bushra Bibi in the iddat case after a trial court deemed their marriage fraudulent in February this year.

However, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government has stated its intention to keep the PTI founder behind bars.

“Imran Khan’s main agenda is to destabilize the country and spread chaos and anarchy, so the government will certainly try to keep him in prison as long as possible,” the Prime Minister’s adviser said during an appearance on the Geo News program ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ on Tuesday.

“He [Khan] consistently aims to spread anarchy and mischief in the country, so for the betterment of the country, he should be kept behind bars,” the official added.

Meanwhile, the issue of Khan’s release has become contentious within the PTI ranks, with 21 of its lawmakers hinting at forming a forward bloc due to the party’s top leadership’s failure to secure his and other leaders’ release, sources told Geo News on Wednesday.

“More than 27 PTI lawmakers held consultations following Shehryar Afridi’s statement about his resignation. Additionally, Shandana Gulzar Khan, Sher Afzal Marwat, and several lawmakers protested the incompetence of the party’s top leadership,” the sources added.

Expressing his views on the current political landscape, Rashid claimed that PML-N President Nawaz Sharif would also change his narrative by the end of July.

Rashid’s remarks come after Geo News reported earlier this week that the three-time former prime minister had decided to play an active role in national politics. According to sources, Nawaz would hold more meetings with party leaders and workers and play an active role in strengthening the current political system.

Additionally, the AML chief stressed the need for negotiation with the army to find a middle ground and remove “this corrupt government.”