By Staff Reporter
RAWALPINDI: Leaders of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party on Tuesday dismissed a government proposal for negotiations involving the country’s most powerful figures, insisting that no meaningful dialogue could occur without the direct involvement of their jailed founder, Imran Khan, the former prime minister.
The rejection came amid heightened tensions outside Adiala Jail, where Khan has been held since August 2023 on charges ranging from corruption to terrorism, following his removal from office in a no-confidence vote in April 2022.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, speaking to reporters at the Dahgal checkpoint near the prison, described the idea of talks among the “top five figures” — a reference to key political and institutional leaders — as untenable. “If negotiations have reached the stage of involving the country’s top five figures, it should be taken as a clear ‘no,’” Gohar said. “Neither can the top five big players meet, nor is there any need for it.”
The proposal had been floated last week by Rana Sanaullah, the prime minister’s adviser on political affairs and a senior leader in the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party. Sanaullah suggested the need for trust-building measures at the highest levels to resolve the ongoing political impasse, but PTI officials questioned the sincerity of the offer, pointing to restrictions on access to Khan. “We come every Tuesday and leave without meeting [PTI founder],” Gohar said, adding that no one had met the former premier for more than a month and that their attempts had been deliberately controversialised.
PTI Secretary General Barrister Salman Akram Raja also urged the government to clarify its plan. “No dialogue could move forward without the PTI founder’s participation,” he said, warning that “the results would be zero if four or five people sat together.” Another PTI leader, Barrister Ali Zafar, said the atmosphere was not “conducive to negotiations,” alleging that new cases were being filed against party members and that workers were facing torture. He called on the government to foster a suitable environment for talks.
Government officials have signalled openness to dialogue but placed the onus on PTI. Senator Sanaullah said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s offer for talks had been made after consultations with the military establishment and PML-N President Nawaz Sharif. “If we look at the past behaviour of the PTI founder, he has never been ready for talks,” Sanaullah said.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif described the negotiation discussions as confined to media statements, with no substantive progress. Speaking outside Parliament House, the minister said the government had no issue with nationalist Mahmood Achakzai or anyone else leading talks for the opposition. “We will accept whoever the opposition nominates,” he said. “If the opposition chooses Achakzai, then give the name.”
The impasse shows the deepening divide in Pakistan’s fractured political landscape, where Khan’s imprisonment has fueled accusations of political persecution and sparked repeated protests. PTI maintains it has not abandoned negotiations but insists on Khan’s inclusion, while the government accuses the party of intransigence.
Meanwhile, Khan’s sisters and party supporters staged a protest near the jail, which ended late Tuesday after opposition figures provided assurances of a meeting with the imprisoned leader next week.
In a video posted on the social media platform X by the Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan alliance, Aleema Khan, one of Khan’s sisters, said Achakzai, the alliance’s head and chairman of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, had relayed the promise. “This is what he reassured us about, that a meeting will be arranged next week,” she said, standing alongside Achakzai and Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen leader Allama Raja Nasir, who had joined the protesters earlier that day. “Achakzai sahib has said that because they are saying a meeting will be arranged next week, today we should disperse ourselves before the water cannons show up.”
Recent demonstrations by PTI and Khan’s family have been broken up by authorities using water cannons, which the party claims were laced with chemicals. In another video, Aleema Khan expressed gratitude for the support from Achakzai and Nasir, saying their presence had bolstered the demonstrators. But she issued a stern warning for the future. “Next week, we will not move. If they do not allow a meeting, we will not move.”
Achakzai, in a separate video shared by PTI, condemned the denial of access to Khan as a violation of international laws. He said he had spoken to a local police station house officer who promised to facilitate a meeting. Calling the upcoming protest a “test case,” Achakzai urged at least 10,000 people to gather next Tuesday. “If people want that a meeting with Imran should be allowed, especially PTI protesters, if they want that his sisters are respected, [then] this is a test case for them,” he said. “If you don’t come, then forget about everything.”
Last month, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry announced that meetings with Khan would remain suspended until Feb. 8.
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