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Talks for Pakistan’s sake, no ‘secret deal’, says PTI


ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar, while accusing the government of being non-serious about negotiations, insisted that they agreed to hold talks for the sake of Pakistan, not to crack any secret deal.

Addressing a press conference, flanked by PTI leaders Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz, and Salman Akram Raja in Islamabad on Tuesday, he reiterated the opposition’s demands for the meeting between Imran Khan and the opposition’s negotiation committee before the third round of the talks.

The PTI on Monday filed an application with the Adiala Jail superintendent, urging to facilitate the negotiation team’s meeting with Imran Khan in a “free environment” by Tuesday (today).

During the second round of talks on January 2, the PTI — instead of furnishing its demands in black and white as agreed in the first meeting with the government — requested the government to grant more time for holding consultation with its founder Imran Khan for finalizing the charter of demands.

Spokesperson for the government negotiation committee Senator Irfan Siddiqui considered the PTI failure to submit its demands in writing as a potent challenges to the ongoing talks.

Earlier, Siddiqui had affirmed that Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar informed the PTI during the second round of talks that “the government had no issue with the opposition committee meeting Imran for consultation on demands”.

However, no meeting could be arranged between the PTI’s negotiation team and Imran Khan, provoking PTI’s outcry. During the today’s media talk, senior PTI leader Omar Ayub criticized the government for not facilitating the meeting in Adiala Jail, despite prior commitments. 

“We demanded an ‘unrestricted meeting’ with our leader, but we have received no confirmation yet. The government’s seriousness will be evident only when they allow this meeting,” he said. 

The PTI’s leadership also rubbished the rumours about ‘secret deal’ in guise of negotiations, and backdoor talks with the government. Ayub said cracking a deal for himself is not what Imran Khan wants to derive from the negotiations. “Khan agreed on talks with the government, setting aside everything he went through, for the sake of Pakistan and its people.”

He added that the PTI pressed for nothing except its two core demands: the release of political prisoners, and the formation of a judicial commission.

Similarly, PTI general secretary Adv Salman Akram Raja reaffirmed that neither Imran Khan nor Bushra Bibi are engaged in backdoor talks, dismissing the government’s claims as propaganda. 

The PTI leaders, including Shibli Faraz, slammed the PML-N-led government’s economic policies, citing rising unemployment, soaring inflation, and near-zero economic growth. 

They believe the ‘rigged elections of February 2024’ were the main cause of economic and political instability in the country.

“The economy is at a standstill. High inflation has broken the backbone of the common people, but the ruling elite does not care because they had already achieved their objective of settling their own corruption cases,” Faraz alleged. 

Besides, the Al-Qadir Trust case was also part of the issues PTI leaders discussed. They criticized the lack of “judicial independence”, and questioned why the Al-Qadir Trust case verdict has not been announced yet. 

Likewise, Gohar dismissed the Al-Qadir Trust case as baseless, emphasizing that over 200 cases have been filed against Imran Khan.

Another interesting aspect of the PTI’s media talk was the demand for “fair elections”.

Raja and Omar separately called for transparent elections and an end to political persecution. They warned that no government can function by suppressing the country’s most popular political party.

“We are committed to constitutional reforms and justice, but the government does not seem interested in serious negotiations. Pakistan belongs to free people, and our voice cannot be silenced,” Raja added.

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