Senior lawyer and disgruntled PTI leader Hamid Khan on Monday said former premier Imran Khan admitted that the former’s stance against the establishment’s political role was true.
Speaking on Geo News show ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath,’ Hamid Khan – who was one of the founding members of the PTI – said the establishment’s inference in Pakistan has always resulted in political instability.
https://youtu.be/XT3cbU3eqcQ
Hamid Khan said that he had met Imran Khan at the latter’s request, adding that he had spent 25-26 years with him.
“I have always been anti-establishment. History has proved that establishment’s role in Pakistani politics has never been inappropriate. They bring different people and then drag them out, which is not the right thing to do. They should not have a political role; their job according to the constitution is to defend the country.”
Read more: Why did PTI suspend Hamid Khan’s party membership?
Host Shahzeb Khanzada asked him why Imran Khan was still asking the establishment to interfere, to which Hamid Khan replied that Imran had confessed that the establishment should stick to its constitutional role, saying, “I can only talk about what he [Imran Khan] said to me.”
Hamid Khan said during the meeting, Imran admitted that he had misjudged Jehangir Tareen and Aleem Khan and that caused a loss to the PTI.
Hamid Khan added that Imran also said he was misled on Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s issue. He said he had told Imran Khan after he filed a reference against Justice Isa and told him that the reference was a mistake, but Imran Khan got angry at that time, and the two sides lost contact.
Moreover, Hamid Khan said he and other former party stalwarts had advised Imran to be mindful of certain people around him. He said these people had deserted certain parties and had links to the establishment. The senior lawyer said he had advised the PTI chairman that as long as these people were around him, he could not be rightly counseled.
The PTI leader hoped that Imran Khan would follow his and his colleagues’ advice, stressing that they don’t want party offices. Hamid Khan said: “They just want the PTI to follow the agenda it had been created for.”