- Rana Sanaullah compares the February 8 elections to the 2018 polls.
- “Politicians must decide on free and fair elections.”
- PTI demands meeting with imprisoned Imran for consultation.
ISLAMABAD: Amid ongoing talks between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and the government, the federal government on Monday said the PTI was bound to demand its mandate, which the party claimed was “stolen” during the general elections on February 8, with the opposition castigating the authorities for “not authorizing” a meeting with the incarcerated party founder, Imran Khan.
“Whether now or later, the PTI will definitely demand its mandate,” Rana Sanaullah, assistant to the prime minister on political affairs, said in a speech at Geo News program ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’.
After months of political tug-of-war, the coalition government and the embattled PTI finally came together to defuse tensions, with the Khan-founded party initially putting forward two initial demands: the release of all political prisoners and a judicial investigation into the ‘affair. events of May 9 and November 26.
During the second round of talks, held under the chairmanship of National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, the PTI negotiating team sought frequent meetings with party founder Imran Khan to finalize the ‘charter of demands”.
Although the PTI made its main demands very clear – the release of political prisoners and a judicial inquiry into the events of May 9, 2023 and the crackdown of November 26 – it was unable to share these demands in writing with the government committee .
In the meantime, News reported that the talks were at an impasse, with sources blaming the failure of PTI negotiators to meet the jailed party founder and present written demands to the government.
The opposition claimed it had not been allowed to meet Khan by Adiala prison authorities, while the government cited the former ruling party’s failure to present a written charter of demand , which led the AN president to hesitate to convene a third meeting, the sources added.
Responding to a question, Sanaullah — on today’s show — compared the February 8 general elections to the 2018 elections, stressing that politicians “need to sit down together and take a decision to hold elections free and fair. After 2018, he said, the PML-N was ready to sit down with the PTI founder.
Asked about the opposition’s claims of “hindering” the meeting with Imran, the PML-N leader said only those who “have access can obstruct the meeting”, expressing hope that the committee can meet the PTI founder tomorrow morning.
“The reason for the delay in the meeting could be due to the arrangements made so that the committee does not raise any further objections,” he added.
In response to a question, the Prime Minister’s aide said they too wanted the negotiations not to be affected by the decision in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Speaking on the same show, Imran’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said some elements were trying to sabotage the negotiations. “We want to move forward seriously,” he said, asking the government to allow the PTI negotiating committee to meet the imprisoned founder.
The party founded by Imran Khan has already issued an ultimatum that the talks should be concluded by the end of the current month.
The talks took place following the former ruling party’s announcement of a civil disobedience movement if its demands are not met. Last month, the jailed PTI founder called on his supporters to launch the anti-government movement by initially withholding remittances.