PM offers ‘olive branch’ to Imran Khan for talks

Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday offered an olive branch to his political rival Imran Khan, asking him to discuss any issues he might have.

He invited the PTI founder for the talks during his speech on the floor of the house.

PM Shehbaz Sharif said, “ I just reiterate: come, let’s sit down and talk if their leader [Imran Khan] is facing troubles in jail,”.

The PM also referred to the time when the politicians would harshly criticize each other in the house but would still stand together during moments of happiness and sorrow.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have been at odds for years, especially after the February 8 elections, which Imran's party claims it won.

Regarding the 2018 elections, the prime minister remarked, “We joined the parliament despite the [rigged] polls. The kind of slogans raised during my first speech will always be remembered as a dark chapter in history,”.

“If someone is facing any injustice, then I believe that the scales of justice should favor those [being victimized], regardless of whether they are politicians or from any other walk of life,”.

The PM lamented that even when he was in the opposition, he proposed talks with Imran, but hostile slogans were raised again.

“So who is responsible for this bitterness [between politicians]? We don't even shake hands now,” said the PM.

He also stated that Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah faced treatment in the jail.

In response to the prime minister's comments, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub reiterated that the PTI would engage in talks with the government once its founder and other incarcerated workers and leaders were released from jail.

“This should be in your minds: you torture our workers, you've kept our lady workers in prison vans at 45°C. My prime minister Imran Khan was kept in a death cell; it's like an oven over there,” said the opposition leader.

Amid the commotion, Ayub insisted that the house's proceedings could only continue if government members respected their opposition colleagues.

He said that reconciliation would be take place only when the troubles of Yasmin Rashid, Mehmood-ur-Rasheed and Hasan Niazi in jail were acknowledged.

The PTI claimed that when former premier Nawaz Sharif was in prison, he had air conditioners installed in his jail cell.