RAWALPINDI: A day after Omar Ayub surprised many by conveying a ‘friendly’ message from his party’s founder to the army chief, Imran Khan’s sister also came out with a similar narrative, leaving many to wonder how the PTI came to have a change of heart regarding the military.

The apparent change in the PTI’s stance — which has held the powerful military establishment responsible for the party’s recent misfortunes — comes days after some material against the army chief was posted on the party’s official website.

This led to a number of arrests, with party spokesperson Raoof Hasan and some members of the PTI social media team being held in a crackdown.

Speaking to reporters after meeting her brother in Adiala jail on Friday, Aleema Khan requested Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir to “become neutral”.

Says Imran ‘requests’ Gen Munir to become neutral; calls for identifying May 9 suspects through CCTV

Quoting Imran Khan, she said that CCTV footage should be used to identify those who were really responsible for mayhem on May 9, while the innocent people who were languishing in jails should be freed.

She said that Mr Khan had always called for peaceful protests, adding, “We have never given a malicious call.”

Relaying her brother’s message, she said that the PML-N and PPP had lost the moral high ground and wanted to pit the PTI and army against each other.

The army is the backbone of Pakistan and “we don’t want the army and the people to be brought face to face”, she said.

If there is no rule of law, how will the country move forward, she asked, quoting her brother.

Businesses and the economy have been destroyed, and people are leaving the country for greener pastures, she said.

Talking about Friday’s legal proceedings, she said that her brother’s legal team was not allowed inside the jail and police told the judge that the lawyers had not shown up, when they were actually standing outside.

In response, she claimed, the judge adjourned the hearing and left the courtroom.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2024