Zalmay Khalilzad secretly met Imran Khan in Lahore, claims Fazlur Rehman
- By Web Desk -
- Mar 18, 2023
ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman claimed on Saturday that former US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad held a meeting with PTI chief Imran Khan during his secret Pakistan visit, ARY News reported on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference, the PDM head said that former US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad had secretly met Imran Khan in the recent months, whose tweets spoke volumes about foreign support for the PTI chief.
“Who gave the right to Zalmay Khalilzad to interfere in the internal affairs of Pakistan,” he asked, adding that the entire situation in Lahore was still grim as the entire city had been turned into a battlefield.
The claim from JUI-F chief comes days after Zalmay Khalilzad had warned that the arrest of former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman will deepen the crises being faced by the country.
Taking to Twitter, the former US special representative pointed out that Pakistan was facing a triple crisis – political, economic, and security.
“Despite great potential, it is underperforming and falling far behind its archrival, India,” Zalmay Khalilzad said, adding that it was time for serious “soul-searching, bold thinking, and strategising”.
The sequential cannibalizing of its leaders through jailing, execution, assassination, etc. is the wrong path. Arresting Imran Khan will only deepen the crisis. I urge 2 steps: 1. Set a date for national elections in early June to avert a meltdown.
— Zalmay Khalilzad (@realZalmayMK) March 14, 2023
The Foreign Office (FO) on Wednesday reacted strongly to a series of suggestions made by former US envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, saying Pakistan did not need “unsolicited advice” on the challenges it faces.
FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch responded to Khalilzad’s tweets, saying: “Pakistan does not need lectures or unsolicited advice from anyone on how to cope with the challenges we face today.”