By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Opposition leaders in Pakistan signalled conditional openness to dialogue with the government on Wednesday, a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif renewed his invitation for talks, though the main opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, continued to reject negotiations outright.
The meeting of the Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan alliance was chaired by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the veteran politician who heads the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, and included figures like Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, the alliance’s vice chairman; Sajid Tareen of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal; Asad Qaiser, a former National Assembly speaker; Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, another vice chairman; and Akhunzada Hussain Yousafzai, the alliance spokesperson.
Participants reviewed the prime minister’s invitation and agreed on the urgent need for a pact to restore stability, improve governance and ease public disillusionment amid spiralling law and order problems. But they insisted on clear objectives. “The dialogue will be held for holding the transparent elections in future, appointment of the chief elections commissioner with consensus, supremacy of the parliament, rule of law, assurance of human rights, and democratic and constitutional norms,” Khokhar told reporters after the meeting.
He added that the alliance would not seek the release of Imran Khan, the imprisoned founder of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, or the dismissal of cases against him as part of the talks. “We believe that the doors for negotiations should never be closed,” Khokhar said. “We noted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s statement with seriousness.”
Achakzai has also met with Aleema Khan, Imran Khan’s sister, to discuss the proposal, according to Khokhar. Earlier, Achakzai had assured National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq that he would secure Khan’s agreement to restore the 1973 Constitution in its original form.
The alliance also discussed plans for observing a Black Day on Feb. 8, both in Pakistan and abroad, to protest what they describe as constitutional violations. Subcommittees at provincial and district levels will be formed to mobilise for street actions, including a potential strike. Yet the prospects for talks remain clouded by divisions within the opposition. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, the dominant force in the alliance and led by Khan from prison, has flatly rejected negotiations with the government, following his direct instructions.
Sheikh Waqas Akram, the party’s information secretary, said it was “not interested” in dialogue. “I met Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and he said that Imran instructed the party not to engage with the government in any way,” Akram explained. He emphasised that Achakzai and Abbas, as alliance leaders, hold the authority to decide on talks or protests.
Akram noted that some within the alliance favour negotiations, but his party has declined under Raja’s guidance. On protests, Akram said Achakzai could call for action without a direct order from Khan, citing a wheel-jam strike planned for Feb. 8. He added that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister had been tasked with leading street mobilisation.
That chief minister, Muhammad Sohail Afridi, addressed party workers on Wednesday, affirming preparations for a movement aligned with Khan’s directives. “Such a movement requires careful planning, organisation and discipline,” he said, stressing that the party has always operated within constitutional bounds.
The overture from Sharif on Tuesday emphasised dialogue on “legitimate matters,” coming amid persistent tensions. Efforts to cool political temperatures began in late December 2024 but stalled over demands for judicial inquiries into violent protests on May 9, 2023, and Nov. 26, 2024, as well as the release of detained party members. The government renewed its offer in February, with Speaker Sadiq insisting talks remained an option. But Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf rebuffed it, citing intensified crackdowns.
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