Pakistan
Saad Rafique rejects talks with PTI following May 9 incidents
The Railways minister criticizes former Prime Minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan's formation of a seven-member committee for negotiation purposes, questioning who would be willing to engage with them.
Lahore: Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique stated on Sunday that there is no possibility of negotiations with the embattled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party after the events that unfolded on May 9.
Speaking to the media outside Jinnah House in Lahore, Rafique criticized former Prime Minister Imran Khan's formation of a seven-member committee for negotiation purposes, questioning who would be willing to engage with them.
Rafique alleged that Khan had instructed his team to end the previous month's negotiations with the government, which were initiated under the Supreme Court's orders. Referring to the vandalism on May 9, Rafique urged Khan and the PTI leadership to acknowledge their mistake and apologize to the entire nation. He added that the PTI's actions went beyond political differences.
The PTI committee consists of senior vice president Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Parvez Khattak, Asad Qaisar, Haleem Adil Sheikh, Aon Abbas Buppi, Murad Saeed, and Hammad Azhar. Some of the leaders mentioned by Khan are currently in jail, evading arrest, or rumored to be leaving the party amid a wave of PTI defections.
Earlier, Imran Khan, the leader of the PTI, called for immediate talks with political stakeholders, noting the departure of numerous party members. Khan expressed that whenever he called for dialogue, he faced increased pressure and cited incidents where police were stationed outside his home and warrants were issued against him. He criticized the crackdown on his party without proper investigation into the attacks on Lahore's Commander House. Khan emphasized that harming the army was equivalent to weakening the country and denied ever instructing his party activists to engage in vandalism.
On Saaturday night, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Supremo Nawaz Sharif ruled out the possibility of holding talks with the PTI. Taking to Twitter, Sharif stated that talks are conducted with the politicians and refused to engage with the PTI, accuisng it of being involved in acts of terrorism.