The jailed former prime minister of Pakistan has categorically denied an apology for the riots that occurred on May 9 consequent to his arrest last year. Khan maintains that an apology is owed to him by the Army for being "abducted" by paramilitary rangers on the day of disturbances.
71-year-old Khan was arrested by the Pakistan Rangers on 9 May 2023, when he came to the Islamabad High Court for a hearing on a corruption case. This turned into countrywide protests and riots by followers of Khan's party, PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf), resulting in damage to civilian and military properties.
Any dialogue with PTI now, Army spokesperson Maj Gen Ahmed Sharif said on May 7 this year, would only be possible if the party apologized for its "politics of anarchy." The statements by the army chief and spokesperson have led to many calls for Khan and PTI to apologize for the violence on this "Black Day."
Speaking to the media on Saturday at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, Khan, when asked to comment about apologizing for the violence of May 9, said, "I see no reason to apologize." Talking to the Dawn newspaper, he said that he had been arrested by rangers headed by a serving major general from the Islamabad High Court premises.
Khan, who over the past several weeks has been willing to deal only with the Army and not with the civilian government, continued to make his stance clear that he was willing to talk to only the "real authority", and negotiations with the government were "futile". He said talking to the government would serve no useful purpose as an undeclared martial law was in place.
The former cricketer-turned-politician also said any talks with "people in power" would be kept within the constitutional framework. To a question about senior politician and ally Mahmood Khan Achakzai refusing to be the focal person for proposed talks with the establishment, Khan explained that Achakzai had been nominated to hold negotiations with political parties.
The former cricketer-turned-politician had earlier this week announced that he was ready to talk to the military establishment, but with preconditions: restoration of his party's "stolen mandate," release of all detained party workers, and transparent elections. He had also called upon the military to appoint its representatives for such negotiations.
About the imprisonment conditions, Khan said he suffered from food poisoning twice because there was no refrigerator in his cell. Now, commenting on the new Toshakhana reference wherein he and his wife Bushra Bibi are implicated, Khan said it was a "clear violation of the National Accountability Ordinance". He said that he still had the Graff watch in question, which it is claimed he sold as part of the NAB reference, and his valuables were shifted to a safer location following a raid at his Banigala residence in March last year.
Khan threatened to sue the chairman NAB, the interior minister, and all concerned officials for involving him in "false cases." The accountability court has deferred the hearing in 190 million pounds Al-Qadir Trust corruption case till August 7, as the counsel of Khan was not available and cross-examination of the investigation officer Mian Umar could not be completed.
Khan's counsel has pleaded that he may be permitted to talk to his children, and the court issued notices to the jail administration in this regard before adjourning the hearing.
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