Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday refuted reports that he had cut a deal to go into exile.
Meanwhile, his party terminated the services of Geoffrey Robertson, who had been announced on Friday.
Imran Khan, who remains in Attock Jail on remand in the cipher case, relayed a message via his lawyer Naeem Panjutha.
Speaking to the media outside the jail, Panjutha relayed Imran's statement that "all reports about me are fake. I have not cut a deal, nor have I pleaded before anyone."
All the reports about me are false.
Panjutha added that Imran conveyed that those who have stashed their wealth abroad are the ones who flee abroad. But he does not own any property or have any bank accounts abroad, "What will I do after going abroad? Where will I even go and do what?"
"This is my country. My life is for Pakistan; I will live and die in Pakistan," Panjutha relayed.
عمران خان کا جیل سے پیغام:
— PTI (@PTIofficial) September 2, 2023
"کچھ لوگ میرے ملک سے باہر جانے کی باتیں کر رہے ہیں میں ان کی سختی سے تردید کرتا ہوں،میں اپنا ملک چھوڑ کر کبھی نہیں جاؤں گا قوم افواہوں پر کان نہ دھریں۔
ملک چھوڑ کر وہ جاتے ہیں جن کی جائیدادیں ملک سے باہر پڑی ہوں یا چوری کا پیسہ چھپانے کے لیے ملک سے… pic.twitter.com/uAsvz9dn9A
Earlier, Panjutha relayed details of their meeting with Imran. He said that Imran was in good health and in high spirits.
The lawyer related that Imran said until there is political stability in the country, its economy will not stabilize, and all indicators, such as inflation and unemployment, will worsen.
"If orders of the court, including the Supreme Court, continue to be flouted openly, who will come to Pakistan to invest here and do business?"
Expressing defiance, Imran said that he was ready to brave even worse conditions than his current incarceration but that he was unwilling to compromise on his principles.
عمران خان سے ملاقات ہو گئی ہے ،خان صاحب ٹھیک ہیں اور ہائی سپرٹ میں ہیں،خان صاحب کا واضح پیغام تھا کہ جب تک ملک کے اندر سیاسی استحکام نہیں آۓ گا تو ملک میں معاشی استحکام نہیں آ سکتا،اور الیکشن آئین کے مطابق نوے دن میں ہونے چائیے۔ خان صاحب ماشاءاللہ قران پاک اور دیگر ہسڑی کی کتابیں… pic.twitter.com/4p0ltt3MPo
— PTI (@PTIofficial) September 2, 2023
Meanwhile, another of Imran's lawyers said that the PTI chief remains open to talks.
Lawyer's services terminated
Meanwhile, the party has decided to terminate the services of lawyer Geoffrey Robertson after it received a severe backlash.
Robertson's appointment was announced by PTI leader and Imran Khan's former chief of staff Shahbaz Gill late on Friday.
جسٹس بندیال صاحب اور ان کی عدالتوں سے مایوسی کے بعد اب کپتان کا مقدمہ عالمی عدالت انصاف میں لڑا جائے گا۔ انٹرنیشنل وکلا کو انگیج کیا گیا ہے۔ pic.twitter.com/6tzcBHK3Pt
— Dr. Shahbaz GiLL (@SHABAZGIL) September 1, 2023
Robertson, a barrister with the London-based Doughty Street Chambers, was due to "advise and represent" Imran in international courts in relation to "unlawful detention and human rights abuses".
While announcing this, Gill stated that the party had opted for this move after being disappointed in Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and other subordinate courts of Pakistan to secure justice.
"If the judicial system lacks the wherewithal to ensure the supremacy of the law, then it should be formally shut down, and its several billion rupee budget should be spent on providing subsidy to power consumers," he said in a subsequent tweet.
اگر عدالتی نظام میں اتنی سکت نہیں کہ وہ قانون کی حکمرانی قائم کروا سکے
— Dr. Shahbaz GiLL (@SHABAZGIL) September 1, 2023
تو اسے باقاعدہ بند کر کے جو سینکڑوں ارب روپے بچت ہو گی اسے عوام کے بجلی کے بلوں میں ایڈجسٹ کر لیا جائے
The termination of the contract was confirmed by Doughty Street Chambers, who also deleted their previous tweet of taking on Imran Khan's case. According to Geo News, Doughty Street said the contract had been terminated at the insistence of the client.
The party came under severe backlash after it emerged that Robertson had also been engaged to defend author Salman Rushdie.
Rushdie is a controversial figure in most of the Muslim world, where he is seen as being an apostate.