Imran Khan says he would rather die in Pakistan than leave the country

The former prime minister Imran Khan, who is currently incarcerated in Adiala Jail, has said that he "would rather die in Pakistan" than leave the country.

The message was relayed by former President Dr Arif Alvi during a political gathering on Wednesday.

The PTI leader also warned that those responsible for imposing unjust punishments on his party founder “would see their names tarnished.”

Imran Khan's acquittal in a series of cases has prompted critics to speculate about a possible deal with the military establishment. 

Khan, along with his close aide and former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, was recently acquitted in the cipher case. Both leaders had been sentenced to 10 years in prison in January.

On May 30, the PTI founder was acquitted in two cases related to the May 9 violence. 

The 71-year-old politician and Bushra Bibi were granted bail in the Toshakhana case by the Islamabad High Court in April.  However, the couple will remain behind bars in the "unlawful marriage case".

On April 26, Khan firmly refuted rumours of negotiations, asserting that he would not "strike a deal with those who kept the nation in chains of slavery."

This statement came in contrast to remarks from PTI leader Shehryar Afridi, who stated that any dialogue would only occur with the army chief.

Imran Khan has been in jail since August 2023. He was first sentenced in the Toshakhana case, and then faced imprisonment in several other cases.

In a recent interview with British-American journalist Mehdi Hasan, Khan accused former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa of orchestrating his ouster from power in April 2022.