People want Imran Khan to be imprisoned for five years for Pakistan’s progress: Minister Ahsan Iqbal

Lahore: A Pakistani minister has said that the people of the country believe that keeping Imran Khan in jail for five years till 2029 is necessary for economic stability.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has expressed concern that the release of the 71-year-old founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) could lead to renewed protests and unrest, which the country cannot afford.

“People come to us and say that if Pakistan has to make progress, then Imran Khan will have to be kept in jail for five years,” Iqbal, secretary general of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (N), said while talking to reporters on Saturday.

Khan has been in jail since August last year on various cases.

Iqbal said Khan was a “bad man”.

He said people believe it is necessary for the country’s economic stability to keep him behind bars.

Iqbal said it was a defining moment for both Pakistan and PTI.

He argued that there can be no constructive dialogue with PTI when the party is also conducting a campaign against state institutions.

“If Imran Khan wants to engage in dialogue with the government, he will have to show seriousness,” he said, adding that Pakistan now needs continuity in the government’s policies.

Fawad Chaudhry, former minister of information and broadcasting in Khan’s previous government, said Iqbal exposed his government’s political and economic strategy that keeps Khan in prison.

Chaudhry said it is clear that the government itself believes it can rule only with a stick and has no authority among the people of Pakistan.

Iqbal responded to Chaudhry’s statement on X, saying it was not a government strategy but the voice of the public.

He added that Khan ruled the country for four years but could only boast of soup kitchens.