Islamabad, Feb 20: A close aide of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that jailed former premier Imran Khan was offered a “deal” twice but he declined to accept it.“Two serious attempts were made to cut a deal with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan in the past, but they failed,” Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah disclosed in a talk show.
“The first attempt was led by Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and then-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Ali Amin Gandapur before November 26, 2024, and the second was made by a few people from abroad in the recent past. Imran Khan initially agreed but later backed out of the deal,” Sanaullah said.
“We want a political solution to this problem, but Khan is not willing to find a way out,” he added.
Reacting to Sanaullah’s disclosure, Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Thursday clarified in a post on his X account, saying “There is neither any deal nor any leniency being offered to Imran Khan. Any impression of the government granting relaxation to Imran Khan is entirely false. Imran Khan is a convicted criminal.”