Imran’s tweet again threatens talks including backchannel ones

ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan’s latest post on X (formerly Twitter), targeting top military command, has again risked both the formal dialogue and backchannel talks between PTI and the government/establishment.

Imran Khan is unstoppable despite having been advised even after the latest meeting of army chief with PTI leaders that he should not target the army and its command to help talks succeed.

But Imran Khan again posted an aggressive post in his social media account. “This (unstoppable Imran Khan’s social media statements) is the biggest hurdle in moving forward,” a senior PTI leader lamented while talking to this correspondent on condition of not being named.

A source close to KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur disclosed that the CM during his last meeting with Imran Khan requested PTI founder chairman to avoid attacking the army and its command in view of the recent breakthrough in the backchannel dialogue process.

The source said that Barrister Gohar also made a similar request to Khan but again a hard-hitting statement was issued on jailed PTI leader’s social media account.

Imran Khan was also advised by his leaders to stop the PTI overseas chapter from running any anti-army campaign.

Similar requests were made to Imran Khan even before but all such requests fell on deaf ears.

Gandapur and Gohar had recently met Army Chief General Asim Munir in Peshawar. Imran Khan himself confirmed this development while talking to reporters and termed it a welcoming development.

Most of the PTI leaders were also excited about this development amid hopes that backchannel talks with the establishment would continue and bring some relief for the PTI.

But Imran Khan’s tweet on his X account on Friday disappointed quite a few within the PTI. There has been even discussion between some leaders how to stop Khan’s social media account from spoiling what the PTI has achieved after so long.

While the PTI was expecting follow-up backchannel meetings after the recent breakthrough, now they are not sure how the establishment would respond after Khan’s latest tweet.

On Friday, Imran Khan’s message following his conviction in £190 million case was posted on his X account. His message urged the nation to read the Hamoodur Rahman Commission report. “The history of 1971 is being repeated in Pakistan. Yahya Khan destroyed the country, and today, the dictator is doing the same to protect his dictatorship and personal gains, pushing the country to the brink of destruction.”

There is a realisation among PTI’s second tier leadership that if Khan continues his aggressive posture towards the establishment, it will hurt the dialogue process -- both public and backchannel.

An earlier aggressive tweet of Imran Khan had already jolted the dialogue process once. It was not expected after PTI leaders meeting with the army chief but Khan did it again.

Owing to the aggressive use of Khan’s social media account in the past, PTI leaders have urged him to bring the control of Khan’s as well as PTI’s official social media accounts back to Pakistan from abroad to ensure that they are not used to fuel the fire.

According to a PTI leader those controlling these accounts from abroad even exaggerate Imran Khan’s view and as a result create more problems for the party and its leadership. He, however, agreed that Khan never snubbed such elements.