Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has dismissed the possibility of incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan being extradited to the United States, as rumour mill has been churning out following Republican candidate Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.
“I don’t think Trump will advocate for Imran Khan’s release,” he said in a social media post on X.
Several supporters of Khan claimed that the new US president would advocate for his release because of this acquaintance with him.
Moreover, PTI leader Zulfi Bukhari has 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,” he told reporters earlier in the day at the Adiala Jail.
Asif claimed that it was a matter of time before a call from the US would lead to Khan being handed over, saying that “Pakistan cannot afford to refuse such a call.”
He alleged that when PML-N President Nawaz Sharif received a call, it came with an offer of $5 billion, which he rejected. The defence minister was allegedly making reference to what the PML-N claims that the US made big offers to Pakistan for not conducting the nuclear test.
Conversely, Asif claimed that when dictator and former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf received a call, he complied with more than what was requested.
The defence minister added that the war-related to 9/11 has ended and that there was peace in Afghanistan; however, Pakistan continues to suffer the consequences of terrorism.
“Those making such statements are the same people who supported Nawaz Sharif during his refusal and stood by Musharraf when he laid down his arms,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office dismissed speculation that Trump would influence Pakistan’s internal politics after coming into power.
“We see this as speculative reporting,” FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said when asked that Trump after becoming president, could influence Pakistan’s internal politics and the sitting government could also be pressurized by him.
“Pakistan and the United States are old friends and partners, and we will continue to pursue our relations on the basis of mutual respect, mutual confidence and non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs,” said at the weekly press briefing on Thursday.
She was asked more questions related to the US President-elect at the briefing.
Baloch noted that the president and the prime minister have congratulated President elect Donald Trump on his election as the 47th president of the United States.
“Our relations with the United States are decades old, and we look forward to further strengthen and broaden Pakistan-US relationship in all fields. As the Deputy Prime Minister said in a tweet yesterday, we look forward to fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation between Pakistan and the United States.”
When asked whether Trump’s victory will affect Pakistan’s China policy, she said that Pakistan’s relations with China “are all weather, strategic, and they are a source of stability in our foreign policy.”
Pakistan’s relations with China have continued to grow and expand over the last several decades, she said and added that the relationship has remained “unaffected” by developments around the world. “So we do not need to even consider the possibility that this relationship will be affected by any domestic development in another country.”
