Pakistan's ex-premier Imran softens demand for early elections as more aides quit party

Tariq Butt, Correspondent / AP

Pakistan’s embattled former prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday softened his year-long demand for early elections and said he is forming a committee for talks with the government to end the country's lingering political turmoil.

The offer, if accepted by the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, may help ease political tensions amid stalled talks between the International Monetary Fund and cash-strapped Pakistan, which is currently trying to avoid a default.

"If they tell the committee that they have a solution and the country can be governed better without me, or (if) they tell the committee the holding of elections in October benefits Pakistan, I will step back,” Imran said in a speech on his party's YouTube channel.

Imran also said that senior leaders were being pressured into resigning from his party amid a crackdown, as former cabinet ministers became the latest to quit.

Party spokesman Fawad Chaudhry, who served as information minister in Khan's government, quit the party while general secretary Asad Umar, the former finance minister, stepped down from his position “given the ongoing situation,” but decided not to quit PTI. It came after senior vice-president Shireen Mazari parted ways with Khan on Tuesday.

Wednesday's rare overture from the 70-year-old former cricket star turned Islamist politician comes amid an ongoing crackdown by Shahbaz Sharif's government on Imran supporters charged with attacking public property and military installations in the country. Although not a member of parliament, Imran leads a broad opposition movement against the government.

In a video message for his supporters on Wednesday, the former premier said he was ready to form a committee to hold talks with the government. He said he will step back from his demand for the holding of a snap vote if his committee is convinced that the holding of the parliamentary vote scheduled in October "benefits Pakistan.”

Under the constitution, the next vote is due in October when the parliament completes its term.

Imran Khan's largely unexpected offer to pull back from demanding snap elections comes a day after he appeared before anti-corruption authorities in Islamabad in connection with a graft case. No details were available about Imran Khan’s appearance before the National Accountability Bureau, which quizzed him for more than four hours.

Imran and his wife Bushra Bibi are accused of accepting property as a gift to build a private university in exchange for providing benefits to a real estate tycoon. Imran Khan denies the charge, saying he and his wife were not involved in any wrongdoing.

Fawad Chaudhry gestures after appearing in a court in Islamabad.

Imran’s offer to pull back comes amid a crackdown against those who were linked to the recent violence in which at least 10 people were killed. It also came after several of Imran's deputies, including former information minister Fawad Chaudhry, and human rights minister Shireen Mazari, resigned over the recent violence.

Asad Umar, the secretary-general of Khan's party, in a major blow also resigned Wednesday amid fears that Imran Khan's party was being dismantled by his political opponents ahead of the next elections.

Asad Umar speaks during a press conference after he was released from prison, to announce stepping down from his party position, in Islamabad. AFP

Since his ouster, Imran Khan has been embroiled in more than 100 legal cases, and he has been granted protection from arrest in multiple cases until June 8.

On Wednesday, Shahbaz Sharif in televised remarks at a gathering in Islamabad denounced recent attacks by Imran Khan’s supporters on military installations, saying "a red line was crossed” when Imran Khan’s supporters staged violent protests.

He said all those linked to the attacks on military installations and public property will be prosecuted.

Earlier during the day, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the government was mulling a ban on PTI for its attacks on the key military installations and symbols on May 9. “A decision has not been taken yet, but a review is surely underway,” he told reporters.

“The vandalism of military installations across Pakistan on May 9 was coordinated attacks planned by PTI Chairman Imran Khan. There is a lot of evidence and their people are telling themselves that they were briefed about this beforehand. Over the past one year [after ouster from power] all Khan’s plans failed and this was his last move against the armed forces.”

Asif said the Pakistan army’s reservations regarding the violence in the country on May 9 were “valid.” He said that dealing with the current situation had resulted in a “new situation.”

The coalition government will take every such step to prevent others from targeting the armed forces in the future, he said. PTI party lawyer Ali Zafar said any such step would be challenged in court. He said an entire party cannot be blamed for acts committed by individuals.