PTI links success of negotiations to ‘justice for all’ as govt rules out ‘decree’ for Imran’s release Blogging Sole

PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja (left) and Prime Minister's Advisor on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah. — Screenshot/X/@salmanAraja/PID/File
PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja (left) and Prime Minister’s Advisor on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah. — Screenshot/X/@salmanAraja/PID/File
  • The PTI reiterates its demand for the release of “political prisoners”.
  • Raja says January 31 is the “deadline” for negotiations.
  • Government does not propose to release Imran Khan: Sanaullah.

ISLAMABAD: As crucial talks between the government and opposition continue in a “cordial environment”, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has called for justice to all party members, with leaders excluding the use of “executive powers” ​​to free imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

“The talks will succeed only when there is justice for all,” PTI general secretary Salman Akram Raja said in an interview with a private news channel on Tuesday.

He reiterated PTI’s demands to release “political prisoners”, including Imran, and to constitute a judicial commission to investigate the events of May 9, 2023 and the November 26 crackdown on PTI protesters. “If these demands are not met…we will then develop a future action plan,” he added.

In response to a question, Raja noted that January 31 was the “deadline” for negotiations and after that date his party would work out the next course of action.

The statement comes hours after the embattled former ruling party and the government finally held their second round of dialogue, which National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said took place in a cordial environment.

“In the last meeting, we decided that PTI will present its charter of demands, but the opposition demanded another meeting with (PTI founder) Imran Khan to draw up the list of demands and the next meeting will be held on next week, hopefully,” Sadiq said while speaking to reporters after the conclusion of the second round.

“The conclusion of the discussions was that all participants decided to sit together for the sake of Pakistan (and) discuss issues such as economy, terrorism and many others,” he said. added.

The meeting was chaired by the Speaker of the National Assembly in the Constitutional Committee Room of Parliament, as he facilitated and led the negotiations between the Treasury and the opposition.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister’s Assistant on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah welcomed the “positive statements” of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Raja in today’s meeting.

“The PTI committee wanted to seek advice from its founder,” he said while speaking on Geo News program ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, noting that the government team did not set any conditions for the negotiations.

Referring to the PTI’s demand to release the PTI founder, Sanaullah said he would question the former ruling party on how such a demand can be made.

Replying to a question, the PML-N leader said the establishment neither asked his party to hold negotiations nor prevented them. “Even the ISPR DG said that political parties should talk to each other,” he added.

Further, he rejected the idea of ​​the government proposing to release the imprisoned Imran, saying no one had made a statement on releasing the PTI founder within 15 days.

Joint declaration

Reading out the joint statement of the second round of talks earlier in the day, Senator Irfan Siddiqui said PTI’s Ayub and others had presented their views in detail.

“They (PTI) demanded the release of incarcerated Imran Khan and his employees and formation of a judicial commission into the events of May 9, 2023 and November 26,” he said.

Besides, he added, the opposition wanted to meet the incarcerated PTI founder for a consultation to develop the “charter of demands”. “They (PTI) said that Imran has authorized the start of this negotiation process…in order to continue the process in a positive manner, Imran’s guidance is necessary,” he added.

Siddiqui noted that the opposition had agreed to table the charter of demands in written form after consulting the party founder. During the meeting, he said, the government has no objection to the PTI committee meeting the jailed founder.

“It was agreed that the date of the third round of negotiations will be announced after the PTI committee meets Imran,” he concluded.

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