Pervez Khattak denies backdoor contacts with govt

PESHAWAR: Rejecting the claims of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, PTI senior leader Pervez Khattak on Monday clarified that no backdoor contact was made with the government about the election date or the appointment of the new army chief.

Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the PTI Chairman Imran Khan and party leaders, including Khattak and Fawad Chaudhry, approached the government for talks regarding two specific matters — election dates and the army chief's appointment.

Talking to journalists in Peshawar, Khattak, "No meeting has been held with the government for negotiations and no backdoor talks are taking place."

Moving on to the long march, the PTI leader said, "If the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) wants a clash, then it is their problem."

Commenting on the government's reluctance to allow the party's long march in the federal capital, Khattak said: "We are democratic people. Let us come [there], we just stage a sit-in."

"We have to move ahead in the long march anyway. No one can stop us, it is their misunderstanding [if they think so]," he said highlighting PTI's resolve to continue the "Haqiqi Azadi" march.

He added that the party has been protesting ever since the day Khan was ousted.

In his address to the marches a day earlier, Khan had also said responded to PM Shehbaz's claims and said that he did not talk to “boot polishers”.

“I spoke to those with whom Shehbaz hid in the trunk of the car to speak,” alleged Imran. He also questioned why he would send a message to a "helpless person", who had nothing to offer him.