What does Trump's victory mean for incarcerated Imran Khan?

With Republican candidate Donald Trump all set to recapture the White House, some Pakistanis believe that his victory in the US presidential election 2024 would bring relief for incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan.

Trump was elected US president on Wednesday (November 6), capping a remarkable comeback four years after he was voted out of the White House and ushering in a new American leadership likely to test democratic institutions at home and relations abroad.

The Republican claimed victory in the 2024 US presidential election in the early hours of Wednesday, declaring an "unprecedented and powerful mandate" while addressing supporters in Florida.

Like all countries in the world, Pakistan also followed the presidential election closely, with political parties, including PTI, keeping an eye out for their interests.

Micheal Kugelman, Washington-based expert on South Asian nations, noted that Trump posted on his Truth Social social media platform decrying the treatment of Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh and declaring that the country is “in a total state of chaos.”

“Supporters of imprisoned [PTI founder] likely hoped that Trump would find the time to post something bringing attention to [Imran’s] plight,” he said in an opinion piece published in Foreign Policy Magazine.

Furthermore, he said Khan supporters — including many of the 625,000-strong Pakistani American community — believe that a second-term Trump would take an interest in advocating for the former prime minister.

When he was president, Trump met the then-prime minister Imran several times, including at the White House, and called him a “good friend.”

However, these engagements were likely driven less by a genuine friendship and more by Trump’s desire to get Khan to help facilitate meetings with the Taliban to begin the US withdrawal process from Afghanistan, Kugelman said.

He concluded by saying that Trump’s silence on PTI founder during his campaign shows that the former prime minister — and Pakistan more broadly — “likely won’t be high on his list of priorities.”

Meanwhile, jailed PTI founder has also congratulated the Republican for his victory in US presidential election. He hoped that Trump will push for peace, human rights and democracy globally. 

 

Earlier in Sept, Sajid Tarar, a close aide to Trump, said that a few Pakistani Americans had tried to discuss Khan's imprisonment with the US presidential nominee at a recent fundraiser, but Trump “did not pay any heed to it.”

Tarar had told Arab News that some Pakistani-Americans had been conveying that Trump could push for the PTI founder's release if he was elected, but there was “no truth to it.”

The former prime minister, who remains incarcerated at the Adiala jail since August last year, had alleged that the US was behind his ouster in 2022, citing a purported cipher linked with the US envoy.

'Trump unlikely to seek Imran’s release'

Speaking during Geo News special transmission on US election, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the government believes Trump will not call for PTI founder’s release from prison after he takes the office.

"We don't think Trump will call for PTI founder's release. Let's wait for 15 to 20 days and see what stand he takes," said the defence minister.

Meanwhile, PTI leader Raoof Hasan said that the party had never hoped that Khan would be released after Trump's victory.

"We had never pinned hopes and neither we are relying on Trump's win. We have taken support from the judiciary, parliament and protest for PTI founder's release," he asserted.

Raoof said that no such discussion has either taken place within the parliamentary party.