ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan confirmed backchannel contacts with the establishment but claimed that he had refused the offer. He once again dispelled the impression that his spouse was shifted to Banigala to serve a 14-year sentence under a deal.

Mr Khan said that someone in the establishment indirectly approached Bushra Bibi and asked her to convince him (Imran) to stand down for three years and behave nicely, and then he would be given an open field based on ‘good conduct’.

The former premier said that the offer was made before his conviction while he was in prison. “They want me to stay quietly in Banigala,” he said.

Asked how he responded to the offer, Mr Khan said, “I said that I will not step back from my demand of a democratic system at any cost.”

He added, “I held several meetings with former army chief retired Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa for holding of free and fair elections. I will not accept any other deal.”

Mr Khan said that his message to the military establishment was that they should think about the 250 million people of Pakistan. “Rigged elections will lead to political instability in Pakistan, and the economy that is on the life support line will collapse eventually,” he said.

Mr Khan also claimed that the PML-N and the Election Commission if Pakistan had planned to hijack the upcoming elections.

“I would call all the political parties, Jamaat-i-Islami, Pakistan Peoples Party and others, to watch their votes,” he said, urging all parties to ensure that Form-45 of every polling station must be signed in the presence of their polling agents.

Mr Khan, however, rejected the idea of getting PPP’s support, saying that “the day I seek help from (Asif Ali) Zardari would be judgement day”.

Mr Khan also alleged that ex-Gen Bajwa started conspiring against his government from the very beginning of the PTI’s regime. He also claimed that PML-N leader Khawaja Asif was a close friend of Mr Bajwa’s father-in-law.

“Gen Bajwa, in order to get a second extension, connived with Shehbaz Sharif. They could have toppled the PTI regime much earlier, but they had to delay the regime change plan because of the coronavirus outbreak,” Mr Khan claimed. However, he offered no explanation on why his regime gave the former army chief an extension if they suspected his intentions.

Mr Khan also claimed that the former army chief “fabricated the cipher case” against him, whereas it was a conspiracy against the elected regime.

He alleged that in a meeting with him at the Prime Minister House, a high-ranking member of the military establishment had advised him not to raise the cipher issue in public.

Mr Khan also claimed that he had never thought of elevating the former ISI chief Faiz Hamid to the post of army chief. “Gen Bajwa conveyed to the PML-N that I wanted to appoint Faiz Hamid as the army chief,” he added.