The offer, if accepted by the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, may help ease political tensions amid stalled talks between the International Monetary Fund and cash-strapped Pakistan, which is currently trying to avoid a default.
Imran Khan
Pakistan’s embattled former prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday softened his year-long demand for early elections and said he is forming a committee for talks with the government to end the country’s lingering political turmoil.
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The offer, if accepted by the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, may help ease political tensions amid stalled talks between the International Monetary Fund and cash-strapped Pakistan, which is currently trying to avoid a default.
“If they tell the committee that they have a solution and the country can be governed better without me, or (if) they tell the committee the holding of elections in October benefits Pakistan, I will step back,” Khan said in a speech on his party’s YouTube channel.
Wednesday’s rare overture from the 70-year-old former cricket star turned Islamist politician comes amid an ongoing crackdown by Sharif’s government on Khan supporters charged with attacking public property and military installations.
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