By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday invited Imran Khan’s opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party to hold talks aimed at strengthening and advancing the Charter of Democracy, the 2006 agreement signed by Nawaz Sharif and the late Benazir Bhutto that committed the country’s two largest civilian parties at the time to resisting dictatorship.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah Khan made the overture while responding in the Senate to a speech by Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas. “Let us sit together to strengthen and take forward the Charter of Democracy,” Sanaullah said. “We are ready to sit with you for the betterment of the country.”
He added that parties in the ruling coalition had repeatedly stressed the need for dialogue even when the PTI was in power, arguing that such engagement would strengthen democracy rather than allow confrontation and deadlock to persist. However, Sanaullah said, PTI founder Imran Khan was not ready to talk to politicians, adding that his “stubbornness is a big hurdle” in the way of talks.
Without naming anyone but seemingly referring to the military establishment, he went on to say that the opposition wanted talks with those who did not want to talk to it. He added that the government wanted the PTI to “become a part of Parliament by rejoining its standing committees.” The PTI had resigned from the standing committees in September last year. Sanaullah
criticised the party for what he described as its “reluctance to become a part of the political process.” On Khan’s health care, Sanaullah said all entitled facilities were being provided according to the law and in line with Supreme Court directions. “On the directives of the Supreme Court, a panel of doctors examined the PTI founder in jail,” he said. He added that the courts are the proper place for any relief in the cases against Khan.
The invitation came as PTI lawmakers, including Abbas, gathered outside the Supreme Court earlier Monday to demand the immediate scheduling of cases involving jailed former prime minister Khan and to press for family visits as well as a complete medical examination by his personal doctors. The protest, held under the banner of the opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan ended around 2 pm. Participants sat on the lawn outside the court building, talking among themselves, according to a video the alliance posted on X.
Senate Opposition Leader Abbas and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja led the gathering. Also present were PTI chief whip Amir Dogar, members of the National Assembly Ali Muhammad Khan and Shahid Khattak, MPA Shafiullah Jan and Muhammad Hussain. The group called specifically for “a complete medical examination be conducted through his personal doctors,” the TTAP said in its post.
Khan, founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, has been held at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail since August 2023. He is serving a 14-year sentence in a £190 million corruption case and was recently convicted in a separate matter involving state gifts. His health has drawn increasing attention in recent weeks. Family members and party officials began raising alarms after an eye ailment — right central retinal vein occlusion, or CRVO — came to light in late January.
Abbas urged the government to take what he called “confidence-building measures,” including allowing Khan’s family and personal physicians to see him. “We consider these rulers Form-47 ones but any talks would still be held with them,” the Senate opposition leader said. Raja told reporters the party placed no trust in any government medical report, an apparent reference to one submitted to the Supreme Court by the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. “This is not a moment where we organise a movement or hold talks,” he said, pointing to worries expressed by Khan’s sister Uzma Khanum about her brother’s life. Raja said they had been unable to meet Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi and planned to try again. “Not just the PTI founder’s eye but his body needs a checkup.”
The current protest follows a TTAP sit-in at the Parliament House last week. That demonstration lasted five days before being called off out of respect for the holy month of Ramadan. Khan’s family and associates had been barred from visiting him for several weeks until the Supreme Court stepped in, permitting PTI lawyer Salman Safdar to meet him. Safdar’s report to the court about the vision loss prompted fresh outrage.
Later Monday, speaking on the floor of the Senate, Abbas repeated calls for proper medical treatment for Khan. He alleged false cases had been registered against the former prime minister and that his sisters were being denied meetings. Abbas demanded the formation of a joint parliamentary committee to arrange a meeting with Khan in Adiala jail. “I promise that we [opposition] would not let your government fall,” he pledged. He referred to a recent sit-in by PTI and allied lawmakers at the Parliament House and the KP House, claiming gates had been locked and parliamentarians confined inside. “Is this not an insult to parliament?” he asked, calling for a tradition of “positive protest.”
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