Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

Imran Khan’s crimes alone are enough to keep him behind bars, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said, as he dismissed the former prime minister’s accusation that the government was pushing to amend the constitution to keep him in prison.

Mr. Khan, 71, has been in jail since August last year after being convicted in some of the nearly 200 cases slapped on him since his ouster in April 2022.

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The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder on Monday rejected the anticipated constitutional changes, claiming that it was an effort to keep him in prison by controlling the judiciary.

Responding to the allegation, Mr. Asif on Tuesday said, “Given PTI founder’s long list of crimes, constitutional amendments won’t be necessary.”

“The incarcerated former premier wants to attach himself not just to constitutional amendments but to everything (that’s happening) in Pakistan as he considers himself the centre of everything,” Geo News quoted Mr. Asif as saying.

Mr. Khan should reflect on what chaos he created in the last four years, he said, adding there was an attempted rebellion against the state on May 9 last year.

Mr. Khan is facing several cases in connection with the May 9 violence in which supporters of his party allegedly attacked military installations following his arrest.

Mr. Asif said: “Since the PTI founder has been in custody, he has repeatedly — like three to four thousand times— said that he will talk to the establishment.” He also rejected the opposition parties’ allegations of keeping the constitutional amendments under wraps, saying that the draft legislation was “a public document whose contents are not a secret”.

Despite Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government’s failure to get the required number to pass the amendments which led to the indefinite postponement of its tabling on Monday, Mr. Asif was optimistic about the passage of new legislation through the parliament, come what may.

Defending the coalition government’s move to make judiciary-centric constitutional amendments, Mr. Asif said that the changes are aimed at maintaining a balance of power among institutions, not just at ensuring accountability.

Claiming that the PTI was willing to support the constitutional package, he said that “the former ruling party has requested the government to postpone the amendment until December.”

In response to Mr. Asif’s statement, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said: “Neither have we been involved in any discussions with Mr. Asif, nor has PTI assured support for the government’s constitutional amendments until December,” he said.

He categorically rejected Mr. Asif’s claims, asserting that any statement about PTI’s approval would be false, as the “draft, suggestion, or package has not yet been disclosed.”