Ex-Pak PM Imran Khan shows readiness for probe into 2014 sit-in by his party

Islamabad: Pakistan’s incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday showed readiness for any inquiry into the 2014 sit-in by his party, a day after the army spokesperson hinted at a judicial probe into the incident.

In 2014, Khan’s party held a 126-day dharna in the heart of the capital here.

The 71-year-old founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party made the remarks in an informal talk with the media at Adiala Jail at Rawalpindi, where he appeared before an accountability court in a case related to Al-Qadir Trust.

The case is about allegations regarding corruption of over Rs 50 billion.

“I will be happy if I am presented before the inquiry committee. All the allegations levelled against me regarding the 2014 sit-in are false,” he said.

Khan said that the protest was against the 2013 general elections, which were “managed” by the returning officers responsible for election in various districts.

Army spokesman Man Gen Ahmad Sharif on Tuesday first rejected that there was any need for a probe into the May 9 violence of last year, only to add in the same breath that if a probe was essential, then it should start with the 2014 sit-in by Khan’s PTI.

Khan, in his media interaction, also offered an olive branch to the army by saying that half of his family members were in the army and half in the bureaucracy. “The army belongs to us, and we have no conflicts with it,” he said.

“For God’s sake, don't drag the army into politics … We have never indulged in agitation in our 27-year history … we dissolved two governments (in Punjab and at the Centre) for elections because our political party does not want chaos,” he said.

Khan also tried to distance himself from the May 9 violence of 2023. “I only came to know about the events of May 9 when I was presented in the Supreme Court … I condemned the events of May 9 in front of the chief justice Umar Atta Bandial.”

He criticised the electoral processes, saying that the elections for president, prime minister, Punjab chief minister, and Senate were fraudulent and claimed that private conversations with leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) revealed that elections and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif's return from London hinged on Justice Qazi Faiz Isa's appointment as chief justice.

Khan also questioned the logic of holding talks with the federal government because it came to power through a dubious process as also alluded to by the former caretaker prime minister Anwarul Haq Kakar.

Kakar during a heated exchange with PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi over the wheat scandal had reportedly hinted at dropping a bombshell regarding Form-47, insinuating that it "would leave the PML-N red-faced".

Khan’s party had alleged that the current government was a product of Form 47 which shows the final count of votes polled to a winning candidate.