RAWALPINDI:

Aleema Khan, sister of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, said on Friday that her brother had made it clear that he had no option but to take his issue to international organisations.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Imran in Adiala Jail, Aleema Khan said that despite his imprisonment, the PTI founder remained in full control of the party.

She defended PTI leader Salman Akram Raja amid sharp criticism from the party.

Aleema said the PTI founder had given clear instructions on how to handle his social media account. She added that Raja had been nominated by Imran and he did exactly what he had been instructed by the party founder.

“Imran Khan has said that we went to the Islamabad High Court [IHC] and the Supreme Court too, but no one is ready to listen to us. Now we have no other option but to raise our cases at the international level. We will go to all international institutions,” she quoted Imran as saying.

Speaking about the pending judgment in the £190 million reference, Aleema Khan questioned how Imran Khan could remain in prison when other cases against him had failed in the High Court. “Imran Khan says he will face his cases in court and will not make deals for his release,” she said.

She also criticized the delay in announcing the £190 million judgment. “Have they forgotten how to write,” she said sarcastically. “Imran’s only crime was to provide free education to 250 children,” she added

She mocked Advisor to Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah’s statement that Aleema had started taking over PTI. “He anyway [Rana] and the establishment are on the same page,” she said. “Since February 8, PTI has not been under anyone’s control, but Imran Khan is running it from jail,” she said.

“PTI founder gives instructions on how to use his twitter [now X] account. It is a great responsibility, we will fulfill it. He [PTI founder] has no position in the party, but he leads the party from prison. Everything was decided in Adiala jail and is still being done,” she added.

Aleema said they had promised to protect the PTI founder and would bring to light everything that had been done against him. She charged that the jail authorities had restricted access to the PTI founder.

Talks with the government

Separately, PTI lawyer Shoaib Shaheen told the media that Imran believed that negotiations should be held with those who have real power. He added that when the government did not have the authority, “why are they sitting with it in negotiations?”

Shaheen said the government claimed the economy had improved, but more than 10 million people slipped below the poverty line. The PTI founder, he said, emphasized that the rule of law was essential to improve the economy.

“Will it take a year to form a judicial commission for a full inquiry into the November 26 incident?” Shaheen asked, referring to one of the two demands PTI made during talks with the government.

The second demand was the release of PTI workers and leaders, including Imran.

When probed further on the talks between the government and the PTI, Shoaib Shaheen said that the spokesperson for “our negotiating committee is Sahibzada Hamid Raza; therefore Raza is talking about what to say about the talks”.