PTI not having backdoor contacts: Gohar

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gauhar Ali Khan Monday said that his party is not involved in backdoor contacts or any negotiations taking place with someone else.

“The committee formed by PTI founder Imran Khan is the one conducting the negotiations with the government panel,” he said while talking to the media outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

He noted that two rounds of talks have been held with the government negotiation committee. However, he emphasised it was necessary to meet the party’s founder chairman before the third round of negotiations, as they had also told the government negotiation committee that they have to meet Imran Khan first. He clarified that apart from two meetings of the negotiation committee, there had been no meeting.

Gohar said that it was hoped that the meeting with Imran would take place today (Tuesday), but there was no confirmation yet. “Hopefully we will meet Imran Khan tomorrow. But Bushra Bibi is not involved in the negotiations at all, someone has given false news that backdoor negotiations are going on with her,” he clarified.

“Our only two demands are the release of prisoners and the establishment of a judicial commission. The PTI founder has given a timeframe for these two demands. Imran Khan has clearly said that a decision of 190 million pounds should be made, as he has not gained any personal benefits in the Al-Qadir [Trust] case,” he contended.

He pointed out that the witnesses have also told the court that the former prime minister had no direct dealings, “It is hoped that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi will be acquitted in the Al-Qadir case,” he said.

Meanwhile, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram denounced the Punjab chief minister and others for making statements to create an excuse to bring to a halt the ongoing political dialogue.

He charged that the government’s ‘cronies’ should not doubt the PTI’s intentions pertaining to the parlays, rather the talks have made no headway due to the government’s ‘non-serious and coercive’ attitude.

Waqas urged the government to control elements within their own ranks, who were determined to sabotage the negotiation process and had become major obstacles to its success. He emphasised that PTI’s commitment to resolving the current political impasse was clear when Imran Khan took the initiative to form an empowered negotiating committee, but the regime failed to reciprocate with equal seriousness.

The PTI spokesperson expressed surprise at the Islamabad accountability court’s sudden postponement of its long-awaited verdict again in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case against Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi due to a judge’s unavailability.

He accused, what he called, the unrepresentative government of exploiting the court system to deliberately delay the decision, thereby unjustly prolonging the detention of PTI’s founder despite lacking any valid grounds for his imprisonment.

Separately, in a statement, Sunni Ittehad Council head Sahibzada Hamid Raza reacted to the issue of the opposition contacting the National Assembly Speaker and PMLN leader Irfan Siddiqui’s statement and clarified that the Speaker was contacted on Saturday regarding the meeting with the PTI founder.

Hamid Raza said that Saturday and Sunday came and they were expecting a meeting on Monday or Tuesday (with the PTI founder chairman) but it is not yet known whether the government has allowed the meeting or not.

He said that it was decided in the talks that no action would be taken that would sabotage the talks. He added that there were no 40 things or 10 pages to write and discuss, as there were two simple things, the establishment of a judicial commission and the release of prisoners.

Meanwhile, talking to Geo News, PTI senior leader Asad Qaiser said that they did not want to harm the negotiation process in any way and that they were sitting there for positive decisions.

He said that whatever the members of the opposition committee talk about would be final, and that his party’s demands were clear, and giving those demands to the government in writing was just a formality.

Asad Qaiser said that the government committee was being given time so that it could consult all stakeholders and there was no ambiguity in the final decision, while the PTI committee should also contact the leadership other than Imran Khan.

PTI negotiation committee is expected to meet Imran Khan in Adiala Jail today (Tuesday). The meeting of PTI lawyers with Imran has been postponed due to the proposed meeting with the negotiation committee.

The PTI lawyers have submitted a request to the Adiala Jail superintendent, stating that instead of Imran’s counsels, the negotiation committee should meet the founder PTI on Tuesday. The jail administration has been requested to make arrangements for the seven-member negotiation committee to meet Imran, and that the meeting should be held in the open. The jail administration has not yet responded to the application.