Richard Grenell, US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming envoy for special missions, called on Wednesday, for the release of Imran Khan, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who is detained in Pakistan on charges of corruption.
In an interview with the American news outlet Newsmax, Richard Grenell discussed the US and Pakistan relationship during Trump’s first term as president, emphasizing that the relationship with Pakistan improved after Imran Khan took to power.
Richard Grenell, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan was viewed as an outsider and not a traditional politician, highlighting his connection with Donald Trump.
Richard Grenell, noted that Imran Khan is facing allegations similar to those that led to the imprisonment of former President Trump and called for his release, drawing a comparison between their situations.
“We had a much better relationship with Pakistan during the Trump administration when a guy named Imran Khan was the leader of Pakistan. That’s because Imran Khan was an outsider. He was a former cricket player and actually the captain of the Pakistani national cricket team. He wasn’t a politician, and he spoke in very common-sense language. He and Donald Trump had a very good relationship,” stated by Richard Grenell.
“I’d like to see Imran Khan be released from jail. He’s currently in prison, facing many of the same allegations as President Trump, where the ruling party put him in prison and created some sort of corruption and false allegations, and he’s in prison now,” Richard Grenell further added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Richard Grenell responded to a post by US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller on X, calling for the release of the PTI founder.
He also criticized the State Department Spokesperson stating that the US’s concern over the “sentencing of Pakistani civilians in a military tribunal” was late and that the effort was “too little and too weak.”
“You are late. And this is too little and too weak. Speak normally. Free Imran Khan,” Grenell said on X in reply to Miller’s post on X where he stated, “The United States is concerned by the sentencing of Pakistani civilians in a military tribunal and calls upon Pakistani authorities to respect the right to a fair trial and due process.”