PTI refuses claims of indirect negotiations with PML-N

Islamabad: Refuting claims of indirect negotiations with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan stated that his party had not extended any offer for talks to the current ruling party.

“The PTI has neither proposed engaging in dialogue [with the ruling party] nor requested any favors [from them],” Barrister Gohar remarked during a conversation on Sunday.

He further clarified that their discussions with National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq were limited to matters concerning the National Assembly.

These statements come amid reports suggesting the possibility of dialogue between the PTI, founded by Imran Khan, and its longstanding rival, the PML-N.

In contrast to the PTI chairman's rejection of these reports, Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman and leader of the PTI-led opposition alliance, Tehreek Tahafuz Aiyeen-e-Pakistan, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, confirmed that the PML-N had indeed offered negotiations, according to a report on Sunday.

“All political leaders, including Nawaz Sharif, are united regarding the Constitution. I have met with Rana Sanaullah. The only way to move the country forward is through negotiations,”  Achakzai mentioned during an informal discussion with journalists in Islamabad.

Recalling that the PTI had chosen him to lead the negotiations, Achakzai stated that the party should have responded positively to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s offer of talks, emphasizing that opposition to dialogue from others within the PTI, apart from Khan, was inconsequential.

Despite this confirmation from a senior politician, uncertainty remains about the likelihood of PTI-PML-N talks, especially since the detained Khan has repeatedly dismissed the idea of negotiating with the Nawaz Sharif-led party, indicating that he would only engage in talks with those holding actual power in the country.

“Achakzai will only [engage in] talks with political parties," Khan stated last month, emphasizing that he was open to dialogue but strictly within the "framework provided by the Constitution,”.

A day earlier, two senior PML-N leaders — Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif — voiced their opposition to the idea of talks with the PTI. Iqbal conditioned any dialogue on an apology from Khan's party for allegedly orchestrating violent protests on May 9 last year.

Asif, while noting that he was not part of the team assigned to communicate with the PkMAP chairman, expressed his disapproval of any such discussions with the former ruling party.

Barrister Gohar also clarified that his meeting with the NA speaker did not involve any discussion on negotiations.

“No PTI parliament member is in contact with the PML-N leadership regarding talks [...] the PTI's parliamentary leadership has not engaged in any negotiations with the PML-N, nor do [we] have any such desire,” the PTI chairman stated.

However, the PTI leader separately mentioned that, while no one has approached them, the establishment of a government committee for negotiations would be a positive step.