Former prime minister Imran Khan has conceded that his one-page was a means to maintain his 'weak', coalition government while confirming the murmurings of a stillborn peace plan and incredulous assessment on reasons for desiring peace with India.
In an interview with Atlantic Council's Senior Fellow Wajahat Syed Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman spoke about the future of his party and defended against criticisms of his government even as he allowed a peek into how his government was being managed.
India peace
On the Kashmir peace plan, which former Army chief General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa has eluded to, Imran said that he was never misled because the plan that was presented to him by the then army chief involved obtaining some concessions from India and then inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Pakistan to take the matter forward.
Asked about the concessions, Imran said that they involved gradual steps in reversing the actions of August 5, 2019.
"But that never happened, so if we had never moved forward, I don't know what he (Gen retd Bajwa) is talking about," Imran said, claiming that Gen Bajwa kept shifting his positions as well.
On peace with India, the former prime minister said he had spoken of peace with Delhi long before the military exchange between the two countries.
"If they take one step forward, I had said we will take two steps forward," he recalled his offer after taking office.
However, all this changed after the August 5, 2019, revocation of Kashmir's special status in the Indian constitution.
Imran said he realized that he had come up against this "brick wall" and that all the "RSS-BJP mentality wants is to cash in on hostility with Pakistan."
Chiding Gen Bajwa
Imran went on to chide General (retired) Bajwa for publicly issuing a statement on how peace was needed by Pakistan because it had lost military parity with India and was not ready for a war.
"Even if that was the case, for an army chief to make these statements is so ridiculous. What army chief makes these foolish statements even if it is the case," he said. He later confirmed that Gen Bajwa used to frequently speak of this matter privately.
Imran, however, pivoted to the broader question of a military conflict with India.
"Who wants war with India?" he asked, adding, "Why would we want war with India? Why would anyone want to see a confrontation between the two countries?
He stressed that as civilized countries, Pakistan and India should resolve their issues via dialogue. And even if dialogue fails to resolve them, they should still keep talking.
"War is never an option," he said.
Conspiracies of regime change
Imran once again attempted to set the record straight on the conspiracy that saw him exit the PM's Office in April 2022.
He said that they first saw their backbenchers going to the US embassy for secret meetings. Later when the cypher arrived, and a vote of no-confidence was submitted, they began to put two and two together.
Imran said that they decided not to immediately disclose the cypher publicly, choosing to wait until after the OIC meeting held later the same month.
It was over the course of subsequent months, and he said that other details emerged, that of former ambassador Dr Husain Haqqani being hired in the US by Gen Bajwa and the role the army chief had played in creating an environment of painting Imran as anti-American.
Afghan war
Imran stated that his comments issued after the fall of Kabul that Afghans had been freed of their shackles were mistranslated and then misconstrued as anti-American.
Imran said that US President Joe Biden and his administration had no way of knowing that 300,000 Afghan troops would just melt away.
He reiterated that he was proven right on Afghanistan, noting that the American notion of victory in Afghanistan was always quite vague.
Imran also defended his foreign policies and relations with friendly countries such as Saudi Arabia and China, noting that towards the tail end of his aborted tenure, two meetings of OIC foreign ministers were hosted by Pakistan within four months while the Chinese foreign minister was a special guest at these meetings.
One-page
On the one-page with the military, which he often touted as an example of his close ties with the army, Imran said that he knew from the first day that he would have to work with the military who have been either directly or indirectly be involved in the affairs of the state.
Imran said that things changed after he gave General (retired) Bajwa an extension. "He was a completely different Gen Bajwa after that."
The former prime minister conceded that his attempts to bring the powerful to account - a stated electoral promise - were thwarted by General Bajwa.
Imran claimed that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was controlled by General Bajwa.
"The accountability bureau was controlled by him, so we had no control over what was going on," he said, adding that he was "helpless."
"He didn't want to [prosecute those accused of corruption] because he was already dealing with them," Imran said, accusing Gen Bajwa of not wanting accountability.
Imran also defended the cases lodged against opposition members, claiming that he had inherited all the corruption cases initiated against members of the incumbent government.
"Gen Bajwa, at some point, decided to change horses. I didn't betray him, he is the one who decided to change horses and pull the rug from under my feet."
Bemoaning the weak coalition government that hampered his ability to pursue his reforms agenda, Imran admitted he had to crutch on the army and the powerful spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to ensure that members of his party even showed up in parliament and vote on bills.
"In hindsight, I should have immediately [after taking power in 2018] called for elections, and if I had not got a good enough mandate, I should have stayed out because it is not possible if you want a reforms program and take on the big mafias you cannot do it if you have a coalition government with a thin majority, you can't do it," he said.
"That is the mistake I made, and that's why I became more and more dependent on the army chief because they could then get the budget passed, they had the clout."
Imran said that what was happening right now was a repeat of what had happened when he was there.
"If the military withdraws support, this coalition would fall apart in days."
Future of PTI
Despite losing several key members and facing mass arrests, Imran claimed that today, PTI was stronger than ever.
"PTI today is the strongest party in Pakistan's history."
Claiming to have the largest vote bank in the country, he said that his party had given out 400 tickets for elections in Punjab. Of these, only 40 ticket holders had left the party while the rest had been forced into hiding.
He claimed that the only reason these people are not leaving the party is because they all realize that when they leave the party, their political career is over.
This is why, he claimed, the whole government machinery, the intelligence services and institutions are out to dismantle the party.
"They are failing because the vote bank is growing rather than the vote bank shrinking."
He claimed that a massive corruption case had been lodged against his sister even though she was not in government. Cases were also lodged against his wife, and the same treatment is being meted out to members of his party, he claimed.
Contacting Gen Bajwa and Gen Faiz after leaving office
Imran also conceded having met with Gen Bajwa after exiting office, noting that his purpose was to inquire what direction the country was being taken in because, at the moment, the country was heading into a black hole and to urge that the only way was free and fair elections to bring political and thus economic stability.
He also conceded having spoken to former ISI chief Gen (retired) Faiz Hameed thrice after leaving office but did not detail the contents.
Imran reiterated that a smear campaign was being run against him because the current army chief had allegedly decided that Imran Khan could no longer come into power.
He claimed that the military courts had been set up to try him. Imran expressed confidence that the civil courts would exonerate him of the bogus cases lodged against him.
"I don't know anyone in the army, and I don't know any of the generals. It was not my job to know except the ones I was dealing with."
The former prime minister denied that he had any personal issue with the incumbent Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir.
"This is why I have been trying to meet and speak with him."
But when pushed on why he had removed Gen Munir as the ISI chief, Imran said that there were some issues and that he could not work with him. But now it was about saving the nation.
Asked what he would have done differently, he said that he would have only taken government if he had a clear majority and would have immediately called for elections.
Earlier, he had said that the 2013 elections were rigged, proof of which was the four constituencies they had managed to open for recounting.
However, he had claimed that his vote bank had increased, and in the 2018 elections, the military did not rig them, nor did it oppose them.
In an interview with Atlantic Council's Senior Fellow Wajahat Syed Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman spoke about the future of his party and defended against criticisms of his government even as he allowed a peek into how his government was being managed.
India peace
On the Kashmir peace plan, which former Army chief General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa has eluded to, Imran said that he was never misled because the plan that was presented to him by the then army chief involved obtaining some concessions from India and then inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Pakistan to take the matter forward.
Asked about the concessions, Imran said that they involved gradual steps in reversing the actions of August 5, 2019.
"But that never happened, so if we had never moved forward, I don't know what he (Gen retd Bajwa) is talking about," Imran said, claiming that Gen Bajwa kept shifting his positions as well.
On peace with India, the former prime minister said he had spoken of peace with Delhi long before the military exchange between the two countries.
"If they take one step forward, I had said we will take two steps forward," he recalled his offer after taking office.
However, all this changed after the August 5, 2019, revocation of Kashmir's special status in the Indian constitution.
Imran said he realized that he had come up against this "brick wall" and that all the "RSS-BJP mentality wants is to cash in on hostility with Pakistan."
Chiding Gen Bajwa
Imran went on to chide General (retired) Bajwa for publicly issuing a statement on how peace was needed by Pakistan because it had lost military parity with India and was not ready for a war.
"Even if that was the case, for an army chief to make these statements is so ridiculous. What army chief makes these foolish statements even if it is the case," he said. He later confirmed that Gen Bajwa used to frequently speak of this matter privately.
Imran, however, pivoted to the broader question of a military conflict with India.
"Who wants war with India?" he asked, adding, "Why would we want war with India? Why would anyone want to see a confrontation between the two countries?
He stressed that as civilized countries, Pakistan and India should resolve their issues via dialogue. And even if dialogue fails to resolve them, they should still keep talking.
"War is never an option," he said.
Conspiracies of regime change
Imran once again attempted to set the record straight on the conspiracy that saw him exit the PM's Office in April 2022.
He said that they first saw their backbenchers going to the US embassy for secret meetings. Later when the cypher arrived, and a vote of no-confidence was submitted, they began to put two and two together.
Imran said that they decided not to immediately disclose the cypher publicly, choosing to wait until after the OIC meeting held later the same month.
It was over the course of subsequent months, and he said that other details emerged, that of former ambassador Dr Husain Haqqani being hired in the US by Gen Bajwa and the role the army chief had played in creating an environment of painting Imran as anti-American.
Afghan war
Imran stated that his comments issued after the fall of Kabul that Afghans had been freed of their shackles were mistranslated and then misconstrued as anti-American.
Imran said that US President Joe Biden and his administration had no way of knowing that 300,000 Afghan troops would just melt away.
He reiterated that he was proven right on Afghanistan, noting that the American notion of victory in Afghanistan was always quite vague.
Imran also defended his foreign policies and relations with friendly countries such as Saudi Arabia and China, noting that towards the tail end of his aborted tenure, two meetings of OIC foreign ministers were hosted by Pakistan within four months while the Chinese foreign minister was a special guest at these meetings.
One-page
On the one-page with the military, which he often touted as an example of his close ties with the army, Imran said that he knew from the first day that he would have to work with the military who have been either directly or indirectly be involved in the affairs of the state.
Imran said that things changed after he gave General (retired) Bajwa an extension. "He was a completely different Gen Bajwa after that."
The former prime minister conceded that his attempts to bring the powerful to account - a stated electoral promise - were thwarted by General Bajwa.
Imran claimed that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was controlled by General Bajwa.
"The accountability bureau was controlled by him, so we had no control over what was going on," he said, adding that he was "helpless."
"He didn't want to [prosecute those accused of corruption] because he was already dealing with them," Imran said, accusing Gen Bajwa of not wanting accountability.
Imran also defended the cases lodged against opposition members, claiming that he had inherited all the corruption cases initiated against members of the incumbent government.
"Gen Bajwa, at some point, decided to change horses. I didn't betray him, he is the one who decided to change horses and pull the rug from under my feet."
Bemoaning the weak coalition government that hampered his ability to pursue his reforms agenda, Imran admitted he had to crutch on the army and the powerful spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to ensure that members of his party even showed up in parliament and vote on bills.
"In hindsight, I should have immediately [after taking power in 2018] called for elections, and if I had not got a good enough mandate, I should have stayed out because it is not possible if you want a reforms program and take on the big mafias you cannot do it if you have a coalition government with a thin majority, you can't do it," he said.
"That is the mistake I made, and that's why I became more and more dependent on the army chief because they could then get the budget passed, they had the clout."
Imran said that what was happening right now was a repeat of what had happened when he was there.
"If the military withdraws support, this coalition would fall apart in days."
Future of PTI
Despite losing several key members and facing mass arrests, Imran claimed that today, PTI was stronger than ever.
"PTI today is the strongest party in Pakistan's history."
Claiming to have the largest vote bank in the country, he said that his party had given out 400 tickets for elections in Punjab. Of these, only 40 ticket holders had left the party while the rest had been forced into hiding.
He claimed that the only reason these people are not leaving the party is because they all realize that when they leave the party, their political career is over.
This is why, he claimed, the whole government machinery, the intelligence services and institutions are out to dismantle the party.
"They are failing because the vote bank is growing rather than the vote bank shrinking."
He claimed that a massive corruption case had been lodged against his sister even though she was not in government. Cases were also lodged against his wife, and the same treatment is being meted out to members of his party, he claimed.
Contacting Gen Bajwa and Gen Faiz after leaving office
Imran also conceded having met with Gen Bajwa after exiting office, noting that his purpose was to inquire what direction the country was being taken in because, at the moment, the country was heading into a black hole and to urge that the only way was free and fair elections to bring political and thus economic stability.
He also conceded having spoken to former ISI chief Gen (retired) Faiz Hameed thrice after leaving office but did not detail the contents.
Imran reiterated that a smear campaign was being run against him because the current army chief had allegedly decided that Imran Khan could no longer come into power.
He claimed that the military courts had been set up to try him. Imran expressed confidence that the civil courts would exonerate him of the bogus cases lodged against him.
"I don't know anyone in the army, and I don't know any of the generals. It was not my job to know except the ones I was dealing with."
The former prime minister denied that he had any personal issue with the incumbent Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir.
"This is why I have been trying to meet and speak with him."
But when pushed on why he had removed Gen Munir as the ISI chief, Imran said that there were some issues and that he could not work with him. But now it was about saving the nation.
Asked what he would have done differently, he said that he would have only taken government if he had a clear majority and would have immediately called for elections.
Earlier, he had said that the 2013 elections were rigged, proof of which was the four constituencies they had managed to open for recounting.
However, he had claimed that his vote bank had increased, and in the 2018 elections, the military did not rig them, nor did it oppose them.