MANSEHRA: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Azam Khan Swati on Thursday said that he was working to mediate talks between his party’s founding chairman, Imran Khan, and the army chief.

“It may seem challenging to bring Imran Khan and the army chief to the negotiation table, but I will make it happen for the sake of the country’s political and economic stability,” Mr Swati told reporters at the New Circuit House here after his release from Attock Jail.

Earlier, he received a warm welcome from his party’s workers who took him from Baffa to Mansehra city in a vehicular convoy.

The PTI leader said the country was at a critical juncture of its history, with rising terrorist activities and political and economic uncertainty affecting every aspect of life.

He said in such a situation, he would facilitate “reconciliation” between Imran Khan and the army chief.

“I will meet Imran Khan soon to persuade him to hold talks with the army chief,” he said, declaring the army a key national institution and a source of national pride.

Mr Swati insisted that he hadn’t been freed under any deal and that he would stay loyal to the party chief.

He said his deteriorating health caused fear among those behind his fourth-month long detention.

The PTI leader criticised the PML-N for “coming to power through a stolen public mandate and damaging every institution of the country.”

He said the corrupt politicians seized power through rigged polls before ruining national institutions.

“We will oust them to ensure the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution,” he said.

Mr Swati said that the Feb 8 public gathering in Swabi would witness record public turnout as the people wanted to show solidarity with detained Imran Khan and called for his release.

He called for the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the May 9 violence incidents in the country and accused the federal government of exploiting the situation to its benefit through “baseless propaganda.”

The PTI leader urged the provincial government to take extra precautionary measures to check corruption in departments.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2025