“It is said that the PTI founder is ready for talks. [Imran] If Khan is open to talks, that would be a good thing. President Asif Ali Zardari has always tried to resolve issues through negotiations. [and] PPP will play its role if necessary [in this regard]Shah was speaking to media in Quetta.
Notably, the party founded by Khan has taken a hardline stance against the current government led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which is backed by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) among others.
The party founded by Khan has been attacking the PPP-PML-N coalition since he was ousted in 2022 following a no-confidence vote.
Political polarization has worsened after the two parties joined forces again in the February 8 elections and reached a power-sharing agreement to form a central government, according to Geo News.
Amid growing political instability and calls for reconciliation from different segments of society and political parties, the party has so far refused to negotiate with the “Form 47 government” – a reference to the alleged manipulation of election results – and has voiced its intention to negotiate with the military instead.
In April, PTI stalwart Shehryar Afridi had said on Geo News’ show “Naya Pakistan” that the former ruling party wanted “immediate dialogue with the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Director General of Integrated Intelligence (DG ISI)” rather than “the rejected rulers”.
He also alleged that the current government is a group of “rejected people” who have been “remotely manipulated” and made it to Parliament through “Form 47”.
The following month, the party’s secretary-general and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Omar Ayub, revealed that Khan had in fact handed over “major responsibilities” to former president Dr Arif Alvi.
Commenting on Ayub’s remarks, Alvi said the dialogue process should be initiated by “those with real powers”.
But last month, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar said the party’s founders had approved talks with the government.
Earlier on Saturday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur called for “state institutions” to remain “neutral” so the country could move forward.
Gandapur’s statement echoes the message of the PTI founder, which was conveyed by his sister Aleema Khan, who spoke outside Adiala Jail after meeting the former prime minister: “We can only ask you to be neutral for the sake of the country. Remain neutral and allow the country to progress and develop on its own.”
Meanwhile, the Pakistani government has invited the party founded by Khan to come to the negotiating table for talks, a week after it toughened its stance to the point of planning to ban the PTI, Geo News reported.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad the previous day, Federal Petroleum Minister Dr Musadiq Malik said: “If you want to exclude us, then do so. We don’t want to solve the problem, we want to complicate it further. Instead of destroying everything, we should talk.”
Shah further said that Khan felt that politicians needed to come together and it was good that he was open to it. (ANI)
This report has been auto-generated from ANI news service and ThePrint does not assume any responsibility for its content.
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