Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has rejected the demand of US President-elect Donald Trump’s designated envoy for missions, Richard Grenell, for the release of Imran Khan, saying that “the government does not think such things can be fruitful.” According to Arab News, on November 26, Richard Grenell wrote in his posts on X that “Imran Khan should be released, as his party is protesting in the capital for his release.” Similarly, on Tuesday morning, while making another post in support of Imran Khan, he wrote that “Look at Pakistan, their leader like Trump is in jail on false charges.” Political cases should be closed around the world. Former Prime Minister Omar San Khan has been in jail since August 2023 and says that ‘the government and the powerful army are trying to keep him away from politics.’ However, both sides deny this allegation. Khawaja Asif gave an interview to Independent Urdu on Monday in which he was asked if Pakistan hopes that after Grenell’s appointment, it will be pressured by the US to release Imran Khan? In response, he said, ‘I don’t think there is any kind of pressure.’ He further said, ‘In American politics, different people and parties have different views and they express them, but as far as relations with the government are concerned, expressing and interpreting something through tweets is a far cry. I don’t think Richard Grenell’s tweets will have any impact at any level.’ Imran Khan was removed from power in a no-confidence vote in April 2022. Since then, he has been campaigning against the country's powerful military, which is perceived to be aligned with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's coalition government. However, the military refuses to interfere in political matters. Imran Khan remains popular with the public, with thousands of people from across the country attending rallies of his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
