Vawda questions Sanaullah’s claim on ‘deal’ offered to Imran

Senator Faisal Vawda on Tuesday questioned Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah over his claim that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder had been offered a political deal twice but decided not to accept it.

“First, tell us when, where and how. Or is this one of those agreements that only exist in your imagination and that only you know about?” Vawda asked in a post on X addressed to Sanaullah.

He added: “I think you are lucky that according to you, he did not accept the deal. If the PTI founder had accepted this so-called deal, you know very well that he would have gone after the politicians, and he would not have spared you either. Where the politicians would have gone after that, even I don’t know.”

Vawda further warned against what he described as shooting “political arrows into the air,” warning that such statements could backfire on those who make them. “The political maneuvers of the past are already obsolete. Let’s think of something new,” he concluded.

Sanaullah has previously said that the PTI founder was offered a deal on two occasions but rejected it, without publicly detailing the nature or timing of the alleged offers. A day earlier, he claimed that during the November 2024 PTI protest, Imran initially agreed to hold talks and not protest against D-Chowk, but later backed out, adding that it was a missed opportunity for his release.

In an interview on a private media outlet’s ‘Capital Talk’ show on Wednesday, Sanaullah revealed that the government, including Home Minister Naqvi, had made an offer to Imran, proposing that the party hold its planned November 2024 sit-in at Sangjani instead of marching towards D-Chowk.

“He (Imran) was being given wise advice, and Mohsin Naqvi was directly involved in talks with him, telling him not to come towards Islamabad or go to D-Chowk, but to sit at Sangjani and hold talks there. Initially, Imran Khan agreed to this, but after agreeing, he backed out and said that Bushra Bibi would decide. He then took the decision that they would go to D-Chowk,” Sanaullah said.

He explained that if Imran had agreed, he would have received concessions, adding that the decision lost an opportunity for his release. When asked if Imran had allegedly said that he did not want to come out, Sanaullah replied: “You can say it.” The prime minister’s aide said the PTI founder could have secured his release from Adiala jail if the party had chosen a more peaceful course of action during its 2024 protest.

Earlier on Thursday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar strongly dismissed media reports suggesting any “deal” between the government and Imran. In a statement shared on X, Tarar said: “There is no agreement or leniency for Imran.” He added that any suggestion that the government would grant concessions to Imran Khan was “completely false and misleading”.

Tarar concluded by saying, “Imran Khan is a convicted criminal and the news about his release is baseless. There is no truth in this news.”

Khan, 73, has been jailed since August 2023 following convictions that he and the PTI consider politically motivated. Since his ouster in 2022 via a no-confidence vote, he has faced multiple cases, including state gifts and an illegal marriage. Some sentences have been suspended or overturned and appeals are pending. He denies any wrongdoing.