Talks with politicians futile if decisions dictated from elsewhere: Imran Khan

Islamabad [Pakistan], June 15 : Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that holding talks with politicians would be futile if decisions are dictated from elsewhere, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan made these remarks while speaking to reporters after hearing in the £190 million corruption case.
He said that PTI was not opposed to political dialogue. He alleged that political parties during previous talks with politicians, facilitated by former chief justice Umar Ata Bandial, said that the "top man" had decided not to participate in elections until his retirement, according to Dawn report.
Imran Khan stressed that lawmakers always seek talks, citing PTI's dialogue with General Pervez Musharraf's representative during his tenure, instead of the government, Dawn reported.
On June 13, a session court in Islamabad on Thursday acquitted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and senior party leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the Azadi March case, Pakistan-based ARY News reported.
According to details, the judicial magistrate Malik Muhammad Imran announced the reserved verdict and Imran Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed.
The court also ordered the acquittal of Sadaqat Abbasi and Ali Nawaz Awan from the Azadi March case.Several PTI leaders, including Pakistan's former PM Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and others were booked by police in various FIRs related to Azadi March, ARY News reported.
The police had lodged 42 cases against PTI's senior leaders and workers for agitation after clashes broke out between the police and the PTI leader, according to ARY News report.Imran Khan's march for "Haqeeqi Azadi" (real freedom) on May 25, 2022. Prior to the march, authorities imposed Section 144, a measure used to curb gatherings, Dawn reported.
Authorities placed shipping containers on major thoroughfares to block their path. Undeterred by the moves, the marchers, who tried to walk through the containers to head to Islamabad, were met with tear gas as police tried to disperse them. Police also charged them with batons, according to Dawn report.
Khan, who served as Pakistan's Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, has been incarcerated in Adiala Jail since August 2023 on multiple charges including the Toshakhana case and Iddat case.
On June 9, an aircraft carrying the message 'Release Imran Khan' was spotted over the stadium during the India versus Pakistan match in the T20 World Cup 2024 in New York. While sharing the video of the incident on X, PTI wrote, 'Release Imran Khan'.