ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister, Imran Khan, said on Sunday it would be “foolish” not to have “excellent” relations with the army as he ruled out an out-of-court settlement for himself.
Ahead of Monday’s anniversary of his jailing last August on dozens of charges ranging from corruption to leaking state secrets, Khan said in written responses to Reuters questions that he held no grudges against the United States, whom he has in the past blamed for his 2022 ouster from office. Washington denies any role.
“Given Pakistan’s geographical position and the military’s significant role in the private sector, it would be foolish not to foster such a relationship [with the army],” Khan wrote in replies relayed by his media and legal team. “We are proud of our soldiers and armed forces.”
Khan said his criticisms against the army since his ouster had been directed at individuals, not the military as an institution:
“The miscalculations of the military leadership shouldn’t be held against the institution as a whole.”
On Wednesday, Khan offered to hold “conditional negotiations” with the South Asian nation’s military — if “clean and transparent” elections were held and the “bogus” cases against his supporters were dropped.
Pakistan’s army and government did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Khan’s remarks to Reuters. They have both repeatedly denied his assertions. 
In his replies, the 71-year-old former cricket star did not specify what he wanted to discuss with the military.
‘OPEN TO ANY DIALOGUE’ WITH ARMY
The army, which has ruled Pakistan for nearly half its 76-year independent history, plays an oversized role in the politics and governance of the nation of 240 million people, though the current military leadership says it does not interfere in politics.
Khan, who lost power in a parliamentary vote of no confidence after falling out with the generals, has said the army has been backing what he calls the politically motivated cases against him, which the military vehemently denies.
Still, he said, there would be “no harm” in engaging with the generals if he should be released from jail and seek to return to power.
“We are open to any dialogue that could help improve the dire situation in Pakistan,” he said, adding that it was useless to open any such talks with the coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which he says does not enjoy public backing because he claims it won a “stolen” election in February. The election commission says polls were free and fair.
Rather, Khan said, it would be “more productive to engage with those who actually wield power.”
The military — which says Khan and his party were behind attacks on military installations on May 9 last year during widespread protests against his detention — has previously ruled out any talks with him.
Khan’s imprisonment has added to the political volatility in Pakistan, which has experienced a prolonged economic crisis and last month received a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
The political instability since Khan’s ouster from power helped force Islamabad to accept the IMF’s painful fiscal consolidation requirements, which have burdened the people with heavy taxes, analysts say.
The IMF has called for political stability to help put the $350 billion economy on a recovery path.
Khan rejected the idea of reaching an out-of-court settlement with the government or military, unless they accepted that his PTI party had won a majority in February’s election.
“The elections were the most rigged in Pakistan’s history,” Khan told Reuters.

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has initiated departmental action against an employee who is the brother of a former army chief over a “bogus” degree and warned him of termination if he fails to prove his credentials as valid, an airline spokesperson said on Sunday.
Javed Iqbal Bajwa, the brother of former army chief General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa, is a PIA deputy station manager in Birmingham, United Kingdom. A PIA source confirmed to Arab News that Bajwa is the brother of former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who retired in Nov. 2022 after completing a six-year tenure as head of Pakistan’s all-powerful army.
In a show-cause notice issued on July 30, PIA told Bajwa his high school certificate, bearing the roll number 25703, had been declared “bogus” by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Lahore, after the airline authorities sent the documents for verification. The airline has given Bajwa seven days to respond and explain why disciplinary action should not be initiated against him.
“Departmental action is being taken against Javed Iqbal Bajwa,” Abdullah Khan, a PIA spokesperson, told Arab News. “If his degree is found to be fraudulent, he will face disciplinary measures, including potential termination of employment.”
The airline noted that sharing false information about one’s name, age, educational or professional qualifications at the time of joining the service or during the service constituted “misconduct” under the PIA Employees Disciplinary Policy.
There has been no immediate comment from Bajwa on the development.
Marred by financial crises, the PIA suffered a major setback when a fake pilot license scandal emerged in June 2020, prompting the airline to ground a third of its 434 pilots on suspicion that they hold “dubious” licenses and flying certificates and unleashing concern from international safety and transport bodies.
The recent revelation of Bajwa’s fake degree comes as another blow to the loss-making airline, which the government is struggling to privatize this year.
News of action against Bajwa also comes amid unprecedented criticism of the army for its role in politics and society in Pakistan, where the military has ruled for nearly half of the country’s history. Even when not directly ruling after coups, the army is widely seen as the invisible guiding hand in politics. The current military regime says army intervention in politics is a thing of the past.
In recent years in particular, Pakistan’s army has come under intense criticism from followers of former prime minister Imran Khan, who blamed generals for siding with his rivals to oust him in a parliamentary no-trust vote in 2022. The army denies the charge.