Imran Khan writes to Army chief, urges review of establishment's approach

Jailed former premier Imran Khan wrote a letter to Pakistan Army chief Gen Asim Munir, criticizing the establishment's policies and urging him to review its approach towards national security and governance as his party prepares for protests on the first anniversary of the general elections later this week.

Khan, who has been incarcerated in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi for over a year, sent the letter from the prison, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Gohar Ali Khan told the media on Monday.

The contents of the letter would be shared with the public, Gohar added.

He said that Khan in his letter pointed out that the distance between the people and the establishment was widening.

This [mistrust] should not take place at all, but there are certain reasons because of which this gulf is wideningOwing to those reasons, the army is being blamed, so the policy reasons must be reevaluated, Khan wrote in the letter.

His lawyer, Faisal Fareed Chaudhry, told the media that Khan argued in his letter that the 'establishment is backing those who have twice benefited from the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO),' a reference to past political settlements that allowed leaders to evade corruption charges.

Khan also expressed concerns about the country's economic instability, the conduct of the recent general elections, and the state's actions against his party while asking the army chief to reconsider certain policies.

He claimed that the present policies were fomenting resentment among the public and widening the gap between civilians and the military. He noted the recent changes in the cyber laws and also touched upon the alleged actions against his party.

The letter comes at the heels of another letter by Khan addressed to Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Aminuddin last week, addressing issues related to human rights violations, electoral fraud, and the arrests of his party workers.

Khan has already asked his followers to protest on Feb 8 against the alleged rigging of elections last year. His letters may be an effort to galvanize support ahead of the planned protest.