Aleema Khan extends another ‘olive branch’ to army chief

RAWALPINDI: A day after Omar Ayub surprised many by conveying a “friendly” message from his party founder to the army chief, Imran Khan’s sister also came out with a similar story, leaving many wondering how the PTI came to change its mind about the army.

The apparent change in position by the PTI – which blames the powerful military apparatus for the party’s recent woes – comes days after the party’s official website published documents against the army chief.

This led to a number of arrests, with party spokesperson Raoof Hasan and some members of the PTI social media team being detained in a crackdown.

Speaking to reporters after meeting her brother in Adiala jail on Friday, Aleema Khan asked Army Chief of Staff General Asim Munir to “become neutral”.

Imran said he was “asking” General Munir to become neutral and called for identification of May 9 suspects through CCTV

Quoting Imran Khan, she said that CCTV footage should be used to identify those really responsible for the May 9 mayhem, while innocent people languishing in jails should be released.

She said Mr Khan had always called for peaceful protests, adding: “We never made any malicious call.”

Relaying her brother’s message, she said the PML-N and the PPP had lost their moral high ground and wanted to pit the PTI and the army against each other.

The army is the backbone of Pakistan and “we do not want the army and the people to be confronted,” she said.

If there is no rule of law, how will the country move forward? she asked, quoting her brother.

Businesses and the economy have been destroyed, and people are leaving the country for greener pastures, she said.

Speaking about Friday’s court proceedings, she said her brother’s legal team had not been allowed into the prison and that police had told the judge that the lawyers had failed to show up, when in fact they were outside.

In response, she said, the judge adjourned the hearing and left the courtroom.

Published in Dawn, July 27, 2024