PTI panel to finalise demands in meeting with Imran

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) negotiation committee is expected to meet party supremo Imran Khan on Monday or Tuesday to finalise its list of demands ahead of its next session with the ruling coalition’s panel in the coming week.

“Our two main demands are clear, while the party’s founding chairman has placed two other key demands on the backburner to test the other side’s seriousness in the talks,” a senior PTI leader and committee member told The News.

The leader referred to a recent tweet by the party’s founding chairman, stating that their priorities are the release of under-trial political prisoners and establishment of judicial commissions to ensure transparent investigations into the incidents of May 9, 2023, and November 26, 2023.

After meeting Imran Khan in Adiala jail to consult and brief him on their discussions with the government committee, PTI committee member and spokesperson Sahibzada Hamid Raza said they aim to conclude the negotiations by the end of January.

However, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah Khan has urged the PTI to extend the dialogue timeline until the end of February.

When asked about the government’s request for an extension, the PTI leader said the proposal would also be presented to the party supremo next week.

PTI committee spokesperson Sahibzada Hamid Raza was unavailable for comment on a statement by senior PMLN leader and government committee member Senator Irfan Siddiqui, who warned that delays in presenting demands in writing could hinder the dialogue process.