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Aug 21 , 2026
Imran Will Not Confront Military if Freed: Zulfi Bukhari
London: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan would not confront the military if freed, one of his closest aides told Reuters, portraying the army chief as able to extend a "healing hand" after a legal breakthrough this week.
The comments, which came after the Supreme Court ordered Imran to be moved to Shifa International Hospital for treatment, appeared to mark a significant shift in the PTI's rhetoric.
PTI supporters have for years rallied against the establishment after Imran was ousted from power through a vote of no-confidence.
But in an interview on Wednesday, 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 political history, even as doubts remained whether Imran 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."
Bukhari called the Supreme Court 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 night, Imran had still not been transferred, and it was unclear if the government would resubmit a challenge that was rejected on technical grounds earlier in the day.
Bukhari said there were no talks between PTI and the military.
If the army chief woke up "one fine morning" and said: "Enough, I need to show I'm the father of the nation at the moment", then he could "rub his healing hand on to the country", Bukhari said. "I would feel that every political prisoner would be out within 24 hours."
Analysts cautioned that Imran's thinking may differ from that of the PTI leadership that has escaped arrest. - The Express Tribune
Courtesy The Express Tribune
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