By Muhammad Anis *** Mumtaz Alvi
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Senator Shibli Faraz hinted on Saturday the deadline for talks with the government could be extended beyond January 31, if a significant headway was made.
Speaking in a private TV programme, he said though there were still 20 days left in the deadline and by then the party would have a clear idea in what direction the talks were moving. The talks time could be extended beyond January 31, not being a big deal, he added. Shibli Faraz, who is the Leader of the Opposition in Senate, noted that if positive progress was made in talks, then a short extension in deadline would not prove to be a major challenge.
Meanwhile, the next round of talks between negotiating teams of the government and PTI is still uncertain as National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said none of sides had so far approached him in this connection.
“Next round of talks can be arranged on a notice of a day or two whenever two sides approach me,” he said adding that it was not his responsibility to arrange a meeting of the PTI leaders with the party founder.
In a statement, he said the government and allies could decide whether the meeting should take place or not. He said he had made it clear to Asad Qaiser during a telephonic talk on January 4 that demand of the PTI leadership had been conveyed to the government. “The PTI leaders can directly contact PM’s adviser Rana Sanaullah and others in the government,” he added.
The PTI leadership had already given a cut-off date for talks, setting conditions for release of Imran Khan and other PTI leaders and formation of judicial commissions on May 9 and November 26 incidents.
Separately, PTI leader Senator Barrister Ali Zafar explained that the party founder Imran Khan had said that he would not agree to a deal or relief, rather he would fight a legal battle.
Barrister Ali Zafar advocated negotiations on electoral reforms, appointment of chief election commissioner and abolishment of constitutional bench.
In a statement, Ali Zafar, who is his party’s parliamentary leader in Senate, said at present there is no democracy. “The government is apparently a government; it is negotiating; but look, it’s looking elsewhere [for permission],” he added.
Regarding the current policy of dialogue with the government, he maintained that even today there is a group in the PTI that insists on opting for resistance. “We can end darkness not with darkness but with light; we have a tongue, and we will continue our struggle with it,” he added.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif slammed the PTI after its founder’s post on X to warn the government for discontinuing the negotiation process after the third meeting if it continues to remain non-serious and fails to form a judicial commission on May 9 and November 26 incidents.
The defence czar said that dialogue process would be meaningless after the PTI founder’s recent message on social media.
A war of words continues between the government and the opposition despite the two sides entered a negotiation process after months of a political tug-of-war.
Both sides held two negotiation sessions on December 27, 2024 and on January 2, 2025.
Addressing a ceremony in Sialkot, the defence minister said that there was no pressure from Trump for release of Imran Khan.
“Either he will come out of jail or otherwise, I cannot predict about it. This is job of courts,” he said, while on Saturday.
He held that every PTI tactic has failed and remittances have not stopped despite their desire, instead they have increased.
“Pakistanis working abroad send money to their homes for domestic expenses. Stopping these remittances at the desire of Imran Khan is absolutely impossible.”
He remarked that the PTI estimates had proved wrong every month, and remittances rise every month.
“Now he [Imran Khan] is saying its impact will become evident after two to three months. His every tact has failed and he has remained unsuccessful.”
Khawaja Asif said that they say that the PTI founder had been offered to be shifted to Banigala, adding, “This is his [Imran’s] desire and there is no substance therein.” He remarked that the PTI caused destruction during its tenure.
“A day before PIA flight took off for Paris. We hope flights will start for 19 cities of Europe. Permission will also be given by UK as well. Economy is improving despite PTI politics of sabotage and destruction. We can become self-reliant if political stability comes and peace is established,” the defence minister said.
Meanwhile, ex-speaker National Assembly and senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser said the government was making various claims regarding talks. He alleged that Federal Minister Khawaja Asif and Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz were trying in every possible way to derail the negotiations.
In his statement, he regretted criticism of Imran Khan’s tweets. “The PTI is an oppressed party. On November 26, we were prevented from exercising our fundamental right. Bullets were fired on unarmed citizens. Our people were sentenced in military courts. Despite all this, we reduced our reservations and demands so that the country can move forward.”
Asad Qaiser said the government had promised that they would facilitate committee members’ meeting with the PTI founder but now the government was using various tricks and excuses.
“We want the country to be governed by the Constitution; have an independent judiciary, have civil supremacy, and have a strong parliament, and that the country should be run in true sense according to the will of people. We stand by our stance in all cases,” he added.
He claimed that the party founder had emerged as a great leader not only in Pakistan but also in the whole world. The difficulties and hardships that the PTI founder was enduring in jail, were for the country and the entire nation stands with him.
Also, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram Saturday slammed the PMLN political ‘dwarfs’ for unjustly criticising Imran Khan.
Reacting to different PMLN leaders statements, he claimed that his leader was unlawfully incarcerated and was a prisoner of conscience. “This in a stark contrast to the ‘corrupt’ Sharifs, who are certified criminals,” he added.
Waqas Akram came down hard on Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal, CM Punjab Maryam and other ‘cronies’ for spewing venomous and toxic rhetoric, targeting Imran Khan unfairly in a deliberate attempt to further pollute the political environment to evade the dialogue process.
He insisted that the PTI founder was a visionary, courageous and selfless leader, who had been in arbitrary detention for over 525 days for his efforts to create a truly democratic Pakistan, where the country was governed by justice and equality, rather than personal interests and power struggles.
The party spokesman condemned the ‘unfair treatment’ meted out to Imran Khan, who was denied basic facilities in jail and was being subjected to inhumane conditions.
In stark contrast, he recalled how the Sharif family, despite being convicted criminals, was allowed to hold daily meetings with their relatives and friends in jail, turning the facility into a ‘Juma bazaar’. He told Maryam that her father was detained in mega graft cases and was crying for help, and then sealed a deal to secure release, leaving the party leaders and workers in the lurch.
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