ISLAMABAD: For­mer prime minister Imran Khan has written a letter to Chief of Army Staff Syed Asim Munir over what he claims is a growing distance between the military and the public.

“Mr Khan has described the reasons for growing distance and suggested […] steps to address the issue. He has also praised the sacrifices rendered by the armed forces,” Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan revealed while speaking to media persons outside the Adiala jail on Monday.

Barrister Gohar said that Imran Khan, in his letter, had reminded the army chief that as a former prime minister and the founder of the country’s ‘biggest political party’, he wanted to point out “certain things because of which the distance between the people and the establishment is widening”, Dawn.com reported.

Quoting Imran Khan, Mr Gohar said: “This [mistrust] should not take place at all, but there are certain reasons because of which this gulf is widening. Owing to those reasons, the army is being blamed, so the policy reasons must be re-evaluated.”

In letter to army chief, imprisoned PTI leader lauds armed forces’ sacrifices; party says full text of missive to be made public soon

Imran Khan’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhry quoted the jailed leader as saying, “Army is ours but because of some policies of the establishment, the difference between army and masses is increasing.

“The letter will be shared by the party later and there are six points which have been raised in it,” he said while talking to Dawn.

Earlier, Barrister Gohar had said that the letter would be made public later in the day.

Faisal Chaudhry claimed that the judicial system has collapsed because of the 26th Amendment and all segments of society, including the legal fraternity, have been protesting against it.

When he [Imran Khan] was asked would he meet the powers that be, the party’s founding chairman said it depends on “people who are wearing boots”, said Mr Chaudhry, who appeared in the Toshakhana-II case.

Last month, Barrister Gohar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur met the army chief in Peshawar. However, it was claimed that the meeting was purely on security-related issues.

“Judges are being appointed to decide cases against the PTI leadership. The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act amendment has been made due to which internet-based industry, which has already faced a $1.7 billion loss, will further suffer. On the other hand, violations of human rights can affect the GSP Plus status,” he quoted Imran Khan as having said.

The lawyer said that the verdict in the Al-Qadir Trust case and the “rigged” elections were also mentioned in the letter.

It is worth mentioning that Imran Khan also wrote a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan on Jan 31. The 249-page letter contained details of various issues.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2025