Sethi rules out any Imran Khan deal with establishment
The analyst says the PTI founder expects to win fresh elections and will not trade a deal for his release or sit quietly in Bani Gala.
Senior journalist and analyst Najam Sethi has ruled out any understanding between PTI founder Imran Khan and the establishment that would secure Khan's release from prison, saying the two sides cannot come onto the same page.
Speaking on his programme, Sethi said Khan believes he is the country's most popular political leader and is confident of becoming prime minister again if free and fair elections are held. UrduPoint, reporting the same programme, said Sethi described that prospect as one the establishment would never accept, and said some matters known to him could not be discussed openly.
Sethi said Khan would not agree to secure his release through an understanding with the establishment, and would not leave jail to remain politically inactive. UrduPoint reported him saying Khan would not walk out of prison and sit quietly in Bani Gala.
On the reported meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in Nawabshah, Sethi said the two discussed political and business matters in detail. UrduPoint reported that Sethi described the meeting as part of conveying messages and settling matters on behalf of powerful figures.
Sethi said several influential circles wanted to buy the hotels in question, identified by The Nation as the PCB Hotels and by UrduPoint as the PC hotels it said were currently being sold, and that Zardari was reportedly among those interested in the deal.
On constitutional matters, Sethi said Zardari had expressed support for the proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment. He said the Pakistan Peoples Party was holding consultations behind the scenes on the creation of new provinces and wanted to finalise the procedure and the consultation process rather than oppose the move.
The reports did not carry any response from the PTI, the PPP, the presidency or the Interior Ministry, and no hotel sale was confirmed in either account.
How the reports differ
Both reports come from the same programme, but they differ in what they say about the hotels and the Nawabshah meeting. The Nation named the PCB Hotels as the property drawing interest, while UrduPoint said the PC hotels were already being sold and that Zardari was one of several powerful contenders. UrduPoint alone said the meeting between Zardari and Mohsin Naqvi was about conveying messages and settling matters on behalf of powerful figures, and alone reported Sethi saying the establishment would never accept an election win by Khan.
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