islamabad:
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has called off reconciliation talks with the government, his party chairman said on Thursday, a week after a court sentenced him to 14 years in prison on corruption charges.
The talks, aimed at calming political instability in the South Asian country, began late last year ahead of the sentencing of the 72-year-old former cricketer turned politician in a land corruption case.
The expropriation case is the largest financial fraud case Mr. Khan has faced. This involves land that the real estate mogul gave to a welfare facility set up by the Khans in exchange for illegal favors.
“Mr. Khan has called off negotiations,” party chairman Gohar Khan told reporters in comments broadcast live on local Geo News television after saying he had met the former prime minister in prison. Ta.
He said he communicated his decision after the seven-day deadline given to the government by Imran Khan last week to comply with his demands had expired.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has largely focused on the events that led to his arrest in August 2023 and when his supporters rampaged through military offices and facilities. calls for the establishment of two judicial commissions to investigate the protests.
Khan’s ouster in 2022 has further heightened instability, worsening the situation with violent protests led by his party demanding his release and threatening economic recovery under a $7 billion IMF bailout. threatened.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)