Imran Khan would not ‘confront’ Pak army chief if freed, aide says

Jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan would not confront the military or army chief Asim Munir if freed, one of his closest aides told Reuters, portraying Munir as able to extend a "healing hand" after a legal breakthrough this week.

The comments, which came after Pakistan's top court ordered Khan to be moved to hospital for treatment, appeared to mark a significant change in rhetoric by his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI.

Its supporters have for years rallied against Munir, who is seen by them as the man who jailed Khan in 2023 after he fell out with the military leadership. Khan, a former cricket hero, himself has described Munir as "mentally unstable".

But in an interview on Wednesday, Khan aide 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 Pakistani political history, even as doubts remained whether Khan 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."

The government and military did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Bukhari's remarks. The military has previously said it does not interfere in politics, while the government says Khan's cases are matters for the courts.

Analysts caution Khan's thinking may differ

The Supreme Court ordered authorities on Tuesday to transfer Khan, 73, from prison to a private hospital within 48 hours – a decision widely interpreted by analysts as a potential first step in lowering tensions between the military and Khan's party, even if only temporarily.

Bukhari called the 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 afternoon, Khan had still not been transferred and it was unclear if the government would resubmit a challenge that was rejected on technical grounds earlier on Thursday.

Bukhari said there were no talks between PTI and the military, but described Munir, who also holds the rank of field marshal, as Pakistan’s most powerful man.

If Munir 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 Khan's thinking may differ from that of the PTI leadership that has escaped arrest. Much of the party's apparatus has been dismantled by Pakistani authorities and many of its former top officials remain in prison.

It's unclear if "PTI's leadership have the capacity, so long as Khan is in jail, to present a common front in any potential engagement or negotiation with the state", said Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

PTI to go ahead with protests in September

Party leaders last spoke with Khan eight months ago, said Bukhari, who is in self-imposed exile in Dubai.

There have been no recent comments by Khan, who has been kept in what human rights groups have described as solitary confinement. But in comments attributed to him last November, he described Munir as "the most tyrannical dictator in history," accused him of "inflicting every form of cruelty upon me and my wife" and said "no matter what they do, I will neither bow down nor submit to them".

Since he lost power in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022, Khan has faced multiple legal cases, including over state gifts, instigating violent attacks on military and state installations, and an accusation of an unlawful marriage.

All convictions but one have been suspended or overturned, with appeals pending. He ⁠denies wrongdoing.

Despite signs of a careful rapprochement, Bukhari said PTI would still proceed with a nationwide march on September 27 regardless of whether Khan was transferred to hospital. It would demand implementation of his court-ordered treatment, access for his family, doctors, lawyers and party leadership, prompt hearings in his cases and, ultimately, his release.

Senior PTI leaders driven into hiding would participate or help organise the mobilisation, he added.

"You'll probably see a lot of leadership come out of hiding," he said. "Even if you don't see them, you'll see them mobilising."