Imran softens stance on snap vote amid crackdown

Imran Khan

Pakistan's embattled former prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday softened his year-long demand for early elections and said he is forming a committee for talks with the government to end the country's lingering political turmoil.

The offer, if accepted by the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, may help ease political tensions amid stalled talks between the International Monetary Fund and cash-strapped Pakistan, which is currently trying to avoid a default.

"If they tell the committee that they have a solution and the country can be governed better without me, or (if) they tell the committee the holding of elections in October benefits Pakistan, I will step back," Khan said in a speech on his party's YouTube channel.

Wednesday's rare overture from the 70-year-old former cricket star turned Islamist politician comes amid an ongoing crackdown by Sharif's government on Khan supporters charged with attacking public property and military installations.

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