United States President-elect Donald Trump would not play a role in bringing incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan out of jail, former Sindh governor Imran Ismail said on Friday.

“Those who are thinking that Imran Khan is depending on Trump is their fallacy,” he said while appearing through a video link on Aaj News programme Rubaroo.

Ismail, who was once close to the former prime minister before the May 9 events, was on the show to give his opinion on the speculations that the new US president would influence Pakistan’s affairs to get the former PM out of jail.

On Thursday, PTI leader Zulfi Bukhari announced his plans to bring the issue of alleged mistreatment of Khan before the Trump government.

But the former prime minister does not believe that the new US administration would seek his release or play any role in this regard. “I hope that Trump will at least be neutral and will not be like Joe Biden. The matter of my release will be resolved within Pakistan, not through the United States,” Khan told reporters at the Adiala Jail on Thursday.

Ismail was of the view that the PTI should not depend on foreign interference to release its party leader. Such a move would be akin to not believing in the country’s law and Constitution, he said and added that it would also be contrary to Khan’s slogan “absolutely not”.

According to him, those who believe the US president-elect would advocate for the PTI founder are “politically naïve”. He agreed with the view that there would be a paradigm shift in the US policy towards the world.

When asked, he said that Khan in his tenure was not against Trump.

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The former Sindh governor reiterated that the billionaire-turned-politician would not affect the cricketer-turned-politician’s legal battles. He advised PTI leaders to avoid taking “shortcuts” and avoid any person’s interference.

In response to a query, he said that PTI protests were not turning out to be fruitful because of the party leader’s decision to stay home during protests.

“I think it is best for the PTI to make a grand opposition alliance and show flexibility to have negotiations with institutions and avoid confrontation,” he said and advised the PTI leaders to show “seriousness”.