US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, on
Wednesday, called for the release of former Pakistani Prime Minister and founder of Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) Imran Khan, who is detained on charges of corruption in Pakistan.
In an interview with the American news outlet Newsmax, Grenell discussed the relationship between the US and Pakistan during Trump’s first term as president, noting that
the relationship with Pakistan improved when Khan took to power.
According to Grenell, the former Pakistani Prime Minister was seen as an outsider and not a traditional politician, emphasising a connection with Donald Trump (/topic/donald-trump).
He pointed out that Khan is facing allegations similar to those that led to the imprisonment of former President Trump and called for his release, aligning his situation with that of President Trump.
“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,” Grenell said.
