In a country where politics often feels like a high-wire act, the latest developments in Pakistan’s ongoing power struggle have taken a dramatic turn. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, still languishing behind bars since August 2023, has unleashed a blistering attack on the nation’s military leadership, while a trio of his former allies claim that their efforts to broker political stability and secure the release of political prisoners are about to bear fruit. The situation, as reported by multiple sources including The Week and Devdiscourse, is as tense as ever, with bold claims, fierce denials, and an undercurrent of uncertainty running through every statement.
On November 5, 2025, Fawad Chaudhry—a former minister and once a prominent figure in Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party—announced that the impacts of his and two other ex-PTI leaders’ efforts to promote political stability and secure the release of political prisoners, including Khan himself, would start to become visible within the next 10 to 15 days. Chaudhry, along with Mehmood Moulvi and Imran Ismail, has been pushing for dialogue between the government and the PTI, hoping to lower the political temperature and clear a path for Khan’s release. “I am very pleased that the efforts for political stability and to secure the release of political prisoners, including Imran, have resulted in significant initial successes, and their impact will start becoming evident in the next 10 to 15 days,” Chaudhry posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The trio’s campaign for dialogue has not gone unnoticed. Their recent visit to the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute in Lahore, where they met jailed PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was widely covered. But if they were hoping for a political breakthrough, they left disappointed. Qureshi’s lawyer, Rana Mudassar, recounted, “Shah Mahmood Qureshi was surprised to see them and immediately asked the police on duty to call his lawyer, who had left just a minute ago, and tell him some ‘guests’ had arrived.” According to Mudassar, the ex-PTI leaders stayed for barely ten minutes and left without any political discussion. Despite this, Chaudhry and his associates maintain that Qureshi agreed with them that the current political stalemate must end.
Yet, while the trio insists their outreach is gaining traction, Imran Khan himself remains defiant—and utterly opposed to any notion of negotiations with the current government or the military. In a post on his X account, which regularly publishes statements attributed to him from jail, Khan declared: “Negotiating with a puppet government is meaningless when its Prime Minister operates under a policy of ‘I will ask before I answer.’ Talks are futile also because every time we attempted dialogue, repression only intensified. All power currently lies with one individual, Asim Munir, who will go to any extent to secure his seat.”
Khan’s criticism of Pakistan’s military leadership, particularly Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, has reached new heights. In a series of public statements and social media posts on November 5, Khan called Munir “the most oppressive dictator in Pakistan’s history and a mentally unstable man.” He accused Munir of unprecedented tyranny and claimed that Munir’s rule is marked by indiscriminate violence against civilians and “unprecedented brutality against women.” Khan cited the tragedies of May 9, November 26, and Muridke as the worst examples of “the blind use of power,” referencing the killings of his party workers in Islamabad and the police crackdown on Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan in Muridke.
“The indiscriminate firing on unarmed civilians is something no civilised society could ever even contemplate. No other era has witnessed such brutalities against women as this one,” Khan stated. He also revealed that his wife, Bushra Bibi, has been kept in solitary confinement in an attempt to pressure him. “We prefer death over slavery. Asim Munir is inflicting every possible form of injustice upon me and my wife. No political leader’s family has ever faced such cruelty. I want to make it absolutely clear once again—no matter what he (Munir) does, I will neither bow down nor submit to him.”
As for negotiations, Khan left no room for ambiguity. He insisted that his PTI party would not engage in talks with either the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif or the military establishment. Instead, he stated that any decisions regarding potential negotiations would be made by opposition alliance members Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, part of the Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan coalition. He also expressed full trust in PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, despite recent criticism from Fawad Chaudhry.
While Khan’s rhetoric grows sharper, the government has not sat idly by. In October 2025, Pakistani authorities sought to block Khan’s X account for allegedly posting “anti-state” material, according to a government minister. The move came as Khan’s supporters marked his 73rd birthday with celebrations in Lahore and other cities. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif accused India of shaping Khan’s narrative on social media—a claim that added yet another layer of intrigue to the ongoing saga.
The roots of this political impasse stretch back to May 9, 2023, when protests erupted across Pakistan following Khan’s arrest. The demonstrations, which quickly turned violent, led to a sweeping crackdown on PTI leaders and supporters. Public properties and even military installations were vandalized, and several high-profile PTI figures, including Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Dr. Yasmin Rashid, were jailed. Khan’s legal woes have only multiplied since, with cases against him being, in his words, “deliberately prolonged to keep him imprisoned.”
Despite the government’s hard line, Chaudhry and his fellow former PTI leaders believe that dialogue is not only possible but necessary. Chaudhry claims that more than 15 PTI members of the provincial assemblies (MPAs) have privately expressed support for government-PTI engagement. He has urged the government to take the first step by offering relief to imprisoned PTI leaders in Lahore and Gujranwala, which could pave the way for dialogue with Khan himself. “If the government gives relief to the incarcerated Lahore and Gujranwala leaders, then these leaders could engage with the jailed Khan and lead a process of engagement,” Chaudhry explained.
To further their cause, the trio plans to approach the National Assembly speaker, the Senate chairman, and several senior ministers, urging them to help defuse political tensions. They have also been quick to dispel rumors that they are working on a so-called “minus Imran formula,” insisting that their efforts are aimed solely at achieving political stability and the release of political prisoners.
Yet, the path forward remains anything but clear. With Khan refusing to negotiate and the government tightening its grip, Pakistan’s political crisis appears far from resolution. The coming weeks will reveal whether the efforts of Chaudhry and his colleagues can bridge the widening gulf—or whether the country is headed for even deeper polarization.
As the clock ticks down on Chaudhry’s promised 10 to 15 days, Pakistan watches and waits, caught between hope for stability and the harsh reality of entrenched divisions.
