Daily Times

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has welcomed the statement of Richard Grenell, US President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee as envoy for special missions – who advocated for the release of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan, with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) urging the United States to respect the country’s sovereignty.

Grenell, who is also a close confidant of Trump, garnered attention in Pakistan when he demanded the release of Imran, who was ousted in April 2022 through a parliamentary no-confidence vote.

“Release Imran Khan,” Trump’s ally tweeted on November 26 – the day when authorities launched a late-night crackdown against PTI protesters marching on Islamabad’s D-Chowk.

A day earlier, Grenell – while talking to a US media outlet – said that the US had a much better relationship with Pakistan during the Trump administration when Imran Khan was the leader of Pakistan because “he was an outsider”.

“He [Imran Khan] was a former cricket player, he wasn’t a politician and he spoke in very common sense language, and he and Donald Trump had a very good relationship,” he said.

Reiterating his demand to release Imran, he said: “There are a lot of the same allegations just like President Trump, where the ruling party put him in prison and created some sort of corruption allegations and false allegations.”

Grenell has held several critical roles during Trump’s first administration, including US ambassador to Germany, Special Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo Peace Negotiations, and Acting Director of National Intelligence.

Meanwhile, the PTI leaders, including Zartaj Gul and Aliya Hamza, have welcomed Grenell’s statements with PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram saying that if someone advocates for human rights “he will be welcomed”.

“We are thankful for the statement but that doesn’t mean we want interference [in internal affairs of country],” he clarified.

In a statement, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said that they want Imran’s freedom in accordance with the Constitution and law of Pakistan. “PTI founder will be released through the courts,” he added. He was of the view that the party did not want the help of any country, including the United States. “PTI will neither request nor expect any interference,” Gohar added.