Imran Khan's crimes enough to keep him in prison, says Pakistan's Defence Minister

His remarks came in response to Imran Khan's comments that the government was pushing to amend the constitution to keep him behind bars.

Speaking to Geo News, Asif said, "Given PTI founder's long list of crimes, constitutional amendments won't be necessary."

He stated, "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," according to Geo News report.

Earlier on Monday, former Pakistan PM Imran Khan said that the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) government's constitutional amendment package was made to prolong his incarceration and termed the proposed changes disastrous for the country and the judiciary.

Khawaja Asif said, "The PTI founder should reflect on what chaos he created in the last four years. There was an attempted rebellion [against the state] on May 9 [last year]."

He said, "Some individuals from armed forces, who were in cahoots with ex-ISI chief Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed. were also involved in the May 9 mayhem."

Pakistan's Defence Minister said that the PTI founder has been in custody and has repeatedly said that he will speak to the establishment.

"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," Geo News quoted Asif as saying.

Rejecting opposite parties' allegations of keeping the amendments under wraps, he said that the draft legislation was "a public document whose contents are not a secret."

Asif has expressed optimism regarding the passage of new legislation through the parliament. His remarks came despite Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government's failure to get the number needed for passage of amendments, which resulted in the indefinite postponement of its tabling on Monday.

He also defended the government's decision to make judiciary-centric constitutional amendments and added the changes were aimed at maintaining a balance of power among institutions, not just at ensuring accountability.

Khawaja Asif said that PTI was ready to support the constitutional package and added that the Imran Khan-founded party has urged the government to postpone the amendment until December," Geo News reported.

In response to Asif's statement, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said that Pakistan's Defence Minister was not part of the parliamentary special committee.

Gohar Ali Khan said, "Neither have we been involved in any discussions with Asif, nor has PTI assured support for the government's constitutional amendments until December."

He categorically rejected Asif's claims that PTI supported the constitutional amendment package, stressing that any statement about PTI's approval would be false, as the "draft, suggestion, or package has not yet been disclosed."

He said that PTI's lawmakers had requested the draft of the proposed changes from the government. However, the Imran Khan-founded party has not promised to support the new legislation, Geo News reported.

Treasury and opposition benches have been involved in a tug-of-war in both houses of the parliament over the government's constitutional amendment legislation that allegedly aims to extend the tenure of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, who is set to retire in October this year and the retirement age of the judges. However, the government needs to secure a two-thirds majority in parliament for passage of the constitutional amendment.

PML-N and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have been making efforts to get the support of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for the proposed amendments, the report said. The leaders of the two parties have held multiple meetings with the JUI-F chief.

Meanwhile, PTI and JUI-F have criticised the government for being secretive about the content of the constitutional amendments. The two opposition parties have demanded that the original draft should be presented in Parliament for debate before approval. (ANI)