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  • Imran Khan Calls Off Talks With Pakistan Government Over Judicial Commissions After Ultimatum Expires

Imran Khan Calls Off Talks With Pakistan Government Over Judicial Commissions After Ultimatum Expires

The call was made by Imran on Thursday after the expiry of seven days' ultimatum Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had given to the government to accede to major demands.

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Imran Khan Calls Off Talks With Pakistan Government Over Judicial Commissions After Ultimatum Expires

Imran Khan


Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has called off talks with the government over the judicial commissions to be established for probing violence against anti-government protesters. The call was made by Imran on Thursday after the expiry of seven days’ ultimatum Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had given to the government to accede to major demands. His decision is seen as a backward step in attempts to ease the country’s already-high political temperature, which worsened after he was convicted of a corruption case and the instability of the subsequent leadership and politics in Pakistan.

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Last year, negotiations started between Khan’s PTI and the Pakistani government aimed to ease down the high temperature of politics in the country. The talks had picked up momentum in the wake of Khan’s legal troubles, particularly after a court decided to sentence him to 14 years in prison on January 19, 2025, in a land corruption case.

This case pertains to land that allegedly was donated to a welfare institution set up by Khan and his wife in exchange for illegal favors from a real estate tycoon. The land graft case is one of the biggest corruption charges Khan faces, and it has been a major focal point in his ongoing legal battles.

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The negotiations centered on two key demands from PTI: the establishment of two judicial commissions to investigate violent protest rallies involving Khan’s supporters. The first protest occurred on May 9, 2023, when PTI supporters clashed with military offices and installations over Khan’s arrest.

The second protest was in November 2024, when Khan’s supporters rioted again, asking for his release. The government says that four military personnel died during the November protests, whereas PTI reports that 12 of its supporters were killed.

The Failure of Negotiations

The PTI had issued a seven-day ultimatum to the government on January 16, 2025, for the establishment of these two judicial commissions. As the deadline ended without any word from the government, Imran Khan, from behind bars, decided to end the negotiations. Gohar Khan, the chairman of PTI, confirmed the development, saying that he was disappointed with the failure of the government to respond to the party’s demands.

“Khan had made it clear that if the formation of the commissions was not announced within this time, then further rounds of talks would not continue,” Gohar Khan said in a statement outside the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where Imran Khan has been incarcerated since August 2023. He further expressed regret over the government’s lack of response, emphasizing that this delay had prompted the decision to call off the talks.

The collapse of the talks further increases the already fragile political atmosphere in Pakistan. Khan’s ousting in 2022, which was accompanied by violent protests from his supporters, has fueled a political crisis that has spread widespread unrest throughout the country. Calls for justice through judicial commissions have been part of PTI efforts to hold the government accountable for the violence and arrests that ensued after Khan’s ousting.

Khan’s arrest and ongoing detention have brought an aura of political gloom in Pakistan. He has accused all the cases filed against him to be politically motivated and has even leveled the same charge against the former prime minister and PTI.

The economy of Pakistan is also bearing the brunt as it struggles to recover under a $7 billion IMF bailout package and slow economic recovery.

Irfan Siddiqui, the government’s negotiation committee spokesperson, had said on January 22 that the government would respond to the written demands from PTI on January 28, 2025.

(Inputs from Agencies)

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