Imran Khan will become Shehbaz Sharif if he makes deal with 'establishment': Fawad Chaudhry

Islamabad [Pakistan], May 3 : Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry said Thursday that the party's founder would become Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif if he makes a deal with the establishment, Pakistan-based Geo News reported.

Chaudhry's remarks came as purported "talks" between the PTI and the establishment in the headlines for the past few days after senior PTI leader Shehryar Afridi said that his party will hold "dialogue with the chief of army staff (COAS) and the director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (DG ISI) soon" instead of speaking to "rejected people" who reached parliament through Form 47.

Afridi made the remarks on the Geo News programme 'Naya Pakistan.' The PTI leadership denied any backdoor talks with "anyone."

Speaking to journalists outside the Lahore High Court (LHC), Fawad Chaudhry, who denies parting ways with the PTI, predicted that the former Pakistan PM Imran Khan, who was ousted from power in April 2022, would not strike the deal with the establishment.

Pakistan's former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry said, "If he [Imran Khan] strikes a deal, he will become Shehbaz Sharif," adding that "Now, a threat to PM Shehbaz is not from his house but from those who brought him to power and outsiders," Geo News reported.

Speaking about the multiple crises being faced by Pakistan, Fawad Chaudhry said, "We need to recover [from the economic instability]." He further said: "No new charter is needed as the Constitution exists."

In response to another question, Fawad Chaudhry praised the judiciary and stressed that "judges are rewriting history."

On April 30, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Barrister Gohar Khan said his party, as of now, was not holding 'backdoor talks' with anyone, top Pakistani daily The Express Tribune reported.

His remarks come a day after it was reported that incarcerated PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan had given the green light to negotiations with the establishment and political forces.

PTI chairman made the remarks while addressing a press conference alongside party leader Sher Afzal Marwat after meeting Imran Khan at Adiala Jail on Monday. He said that the PTI founder had only sought names for holding talks. However, no talks are being held right now.

Gohar said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif had been "exonerated of all charges while the PTI founder was being punished in fabricated cases", The Express Tribune reported.

"The police are being used against our party. Maryam Nawaz dressed in police attire sends a clear message that the police is subordinate to them," PTI chairman quoted Imran Khan as saying during their meeting.

Earlier, on Sunday, it was reported that Imran gave the go-ahead to PTI to hold negotiations with the establishment and political adversaries. However, he made it clear that any talks must play by the rulebook, emphasizing PTI's readiness to sit down with both the powers that be and political adversaries for the greater good.

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