Islamabad, Dec 26 (Representative) The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has welcomed the statement of Richard Grenell, US President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee as envoy for special missions, for advocating for the release of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan. Meanwhile, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has urged the United States to respect Pakistan’s sovereignty. Grenell, who is a close confidant of Trump, in a media interview said that the US had a much better relationship with Pakistan during the Trump administration when Imran Khan was the leader of Pakistan because “he was an outsider”. “He [Imran Khan] was a former cricket player, he wasn’t a politician and he spoke in very common sense language, and he and Donald Trump had a very good relationship,” he said. Reiterating his demand to release Imran, he said: “There are a lot of the same allegations just like President Trump, where the ruling party put him in prison and created some sort of corruption allegations and false allegations.”
PTI leaders, including Zartaj Gul and Aliya Hamza, have welcomed Grenell’s statements with PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram saying that if someone advocates for human rights “he will be welcomed”. “We are thankful for the statement but that doesn’t mean we want interference [in internal affairs of country],” he clarified. In a statement, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said that they want Imran’s freedom in accordance with the Constitution and law of Pakistan. “PTI founder will be released through the courts,” he added. He was of the view that the party did not want the help of any country, including the United States. “PTI will neither request nor expect any interference,” Gohar added. Speaking to Geo News, ruling PML-N Senator Talal Chaudhry responded to the statements of Trump’s ally, saying that the government’s position is “very clear that this is our internal matter”. “The US must respect our sovereignty,” he said, adding that they want their “child [Imran Khan] they brought up” to come back to power.
He rejected any possibility of the PTI founder being released with such statements, saying that Imran is accused of corruption and violating the Constitution. A day earlier, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah — told Geo News that the government “would not accept any pressure” from the new US administration to negotiate with PTI or release its party founder. Following Imran’s removal from prime minister office through a vote of no-confidence, the PTI founder — who remains incarcerated at the Adiala jail since August last year — had previously alleged that the US was behind his ouster in 2022, citing a purported cipher linked with the US diplomat Donald Lu.