Gandapur says Imran will never leave Pakistan

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has said that Imran Khan has always maintained he will never leave Pakistan and will continue to live here.

He added if Imran Khan wanted a deal, he could have made one, but all such rumours are fabricated and are floated to damage the protest movement.

He was speaking in an exclusive conversation with The News.

Minister of State Huzefa Rehman claimed on Saturday that Imran Khan wanted to leave Pakistan for a European country or the United Kingdom, but the government refused and instead offered him the option of relocating to a Gulf country.

Gandapur clarified that Imran Khan has never expressed any interest in leaving the country nor even hinted at such a possibility.

Responding to a question, he said, “Imran Khan made me the chief minister. This is his government and his mandate. I am doing my best to fulfil that mandate.”

He said that the province is under serious pressure. On the one hand, there are administrative and governance challenges, and on the other hand, the party is running a protest movement. “PTI is facing the worst oppression in history. The system is being used unfairly against us like never before.”

He stated that he remains the chief minister because Imran Khan trusts him. “People spread rumours, but this is part of the agenda of our opponents. Whenever our movement gains momentum, conspiracies are launched to weaken the government’s authority. I believe these people are not working on Khan’s agenda but are serving our opponents.”

The chief minister stressed that Imran Khan has always believed in resolving issues through dialogue. “Operations are not the solution. We have already conducted 21 operations and they did not succeed. I believe the first step should be improving relations with Afghanistan. We share a long border and Afghanistan has been in a state of war for decades. There must be better ties and negotiations.”

He emphasized that no war can be won without public trust. “Through jirgas, I am encouraging people to move towards peace. We need to speak openly. If issues are ignored, even a small problem can grow into something like cancer. Public trust in state institutions must be restored. Without that trust, the government and the people cannot be united and without unity, there can be no success or progress. Peace is our top priority and we are working towards it.”

He concluded by saying, “We must eliminate terrorism with the confidence and trust of the people and we will succeed in doing so.”