Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif extended an olive branch to his predecessor and political rival Imran Khan, offering to hold talks with him if he was facing “troubles” in jail.
Khan, the founder of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, has been in jail since August last year after being convicted in some of the nearly 200 cases slapped on the 71-year-old superstar cricketer-turned-politician since his ouster from power in April 2022.
“If their [PTI] founder is facing troubles [in jail], then I reiterate: come, let’s sit down and talk,” Sharif said while addressing the National Assembly.
“Let us sit together to take the country ahead. Let us talk for the betterment of the country. There is no other way forward,” he said.
The Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf have been at loggerheads for years, particularly after the February 8 elections, which Mr Khan’s party claims it had won.
