Imran's letter to COAS aimed at spreading anti-army propaganda: Sanaullah

• COAS gave comprehensive response to Khan’s letters: Sanaullah
• Says Khan might get response if letters not released to media.
• Open letter doesn’t mean seeking response, says PTI senator.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah Khan on Thursday claimed that the letters to Chief of the Army Staff General Asim Munir by incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan were merely an attempt to “spread anti-army propaganda”.     

His remarks came hours after the army chief denied receiving any letter from the jailed former premier. Talking informally to the media and apparently referring to the incarcerated former premier's 'open letters', the army chief earlier in the day said he would not "read it [letter] even if I receive it".

Following the COAS’s informal interaction with journalists, Sanaullah said: “The army chief has given a brief and comprehensive response to [Khan’s open] letters.”

Speaking on a local TV channel, the ruling PML-N leader termed the open letters by the jailed ex-premier a “narrative against” the Pakistan Army. “Everyone understands the tricks of the PTI founder,” he added.

The PM’s aide said: “Khan’s letters to the COAS merely an attempt to spread propaganda and build a narrative against the army.”

Khan’s letters were issued to the media first, he said, adding that the purpose of the move was to spread propaganda.

The PM’s aide said that Khan might get a response if the letters were not released to the media. He further said that a letter written to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi was probably not released to the media.

Sanaullah said such actions would not help PTI to open back door talks. “They have no intention to back off or seek apology over their anti-military narrative and May 9 incidents in a bid to improve their situation,” he added.

Talking to Geo News, PTI's parliamentary leader Senator Ali Zafar said: “This is an open letter, its purpose is not that you are expecting a response from anyone.”

He said that being a former prime minister, it was Khan’s right to point out the faults.

“Open letters are written all over the word,” the PTI lawmaker said.

When asked why did the jailed premier not write to the PM, he said that it was the responsibility of parliament.

Khan, who has been behind bars since August 2023 in dozens of cases ranging from corruption to terrorism, penned three open letters to the COAS, according to his lawyer.

In the third letter, the jailed PTI founder reiterated election rigging allegations, saying “money launderers" were brought into power via manipulated polls.

"The PTI founder, in his letter to the army chief, has raised the issue of giving preference to the minority over the majority through election fraud," his lawyer Faisal Chaudhry had said in a statement.

Earlier, the 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician said he had penned two "open letters" to the army chief on Feb 3 and Feb 8, “because all democratic avenues had been obstructed”.

In previous letters, Imran pointed out what he claimed was a growing distance between the military and the public.

In his letters, the former premier penned six points and urged the army to reevaluate its policy to win over the public with reasons and suggestions proposed by Imran to remedy the situation.

The letters held importance as the former ruling party ended its negotiations with the PML-N-led government last month, in which the PTI had demanded two things — the formation of judicial commissions on events that transpired on May 9, 2023, and November 24-27 as well as the release of "all political prisoners", including Khan.

In December last year, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that no political leader's desire for power should be more important than Pakistan's interests.

The ISPR top spokesperson's comments came in response to a question about purported backdoor talks between the PTI and the establishment.

"All political parties and leaders are respectable to us. No individual, his politics and his desire for power are above Pakistan," he said during a media briefing.