BACK

Dialogue best way forward: Gohar

Our Correspondent
Sunday, Jan 26, 2025

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan on Saturday emphasised that negotiations are the best solution and reiterated that his party had initiated the process with the spirit of generosity, despite having reservations.

“Negotiations are the best way forward. We began the process with great generosity and, despite reservations, participated in the talks in good faith,” he said while speaking to journalists outside the Judicial Complex.

He claimed, “We were insulted, our mandate was stolen and the punishments meted out to PTI’s founder and Benazir Bhutto are known to everyone. Despite all this, the party founder announced negotiations based on two demands.”

However, Barrister Gohar clarified that if the judicial commission is not formed, the PTI cannot engage with the government merely for the sake of appearances.

The PTI chairman also mentioned that he appeared in a case related to protests before the Supreme Court, in which several lawyers had been charged with terrorism. He said the judge expressed the hope the case would be concluded at a future date.

He said that the party had given the government a seven-day deadline to announce its decision on forming a judicial commission. He elaborated that the proposed commission was to determine the judges and terms of reference (TORs), but the government had taken no meaningful action, indicating a lack of intent to establish the commission.

“If the commission is not formed, we cannot sit with the government just for a photo session,” Gohar reiterated.

He also expressed his party’s willingness to engage with all political parties, saying that the PTI founder had initiated this approach by forming the first committee.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah has expressed optimism that the coalition government’s response to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s charter of demands may convince the latter to return to the dialogue table.

“The government’s response will be assertive and politically relevant,” claimed Sanaullah speaking on Geo News programme “Jirga” on Saturday.

Sanaullah elaborated on the future course of action following the PTI’s announcement, saying that the government’s negotiation committee will hand over its response to the Imran Khan-founded party regardless of whether it is attending the next round of dialogue scheduled for January 28 or not.

Pointing to a partial consensus, he said some of PTI’s demands could be accepted, while others may be rejected, which is a part of every negotiation. “It may be possible that the PTI may consider or agree upon resuming talks [after reviewing the government’s response],” said the PM’s aide.

He, however, stressed that the dialogue process should continue between both sides until they reach a logical conclusion.

On PTI’s demands, Sanaullah said the continuation of dialogue was crucial to find answers to many questions: what would be terms of reference [for the judicial commission] and whether certain personalities recommended by the former ruling party would agree on leading the probe.

To a question whether the PTI founder called off the talks following the verdict in the Al-Qadir Trust case, Sanaullah rejected the notion, saying that the judgment has no relevance to the negotiations. He elaborated that the government has never stopped the opposition party from delivering political statements and running movements alongside holding negotiations.

He added that both sides had mutually agreed that external developments would not harm the dialogue process.