ISLAMABAD, OCT 6: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan termed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s offer for talks a “merely symbolic” one, saying that no positive step has been taken beyond extending the invitation.

Speaking to journalists in Rawalpindi, Barrister Gohar said his party had been denied a meeting with its jailed founder Imran Khan for a year, with the last meeting taking place in October last year.

“We have always stood with the state of Pakistan,” he said, adding that despite the party’s good intentions, it was still not being allowed to meet its leader.

The PTI chairman’s remarks came hours after the prime minister extended a conditional offer of talks to the PTI, provided it ends its ongoing long march towards Islamabad.

Addressing an event in Islamabad, PM Shehbaz warned that the politics of sit-ins and long marches would first target the country’s economy. “I urge you to come to your senses, end the long march and sit-in, and then we will sit with you,” PM Shehbaz said.

Meanwhile, Barrister Gohar said the PTI founder’s sisters were non-political but had been taken into custody.

He added that when he arrived at Adiala jail on Tuesday, he was informed that the PTI founder’s cousin, Qasim Zaman — who he said was non-political and had never issued any political statement — had also been detained.

The PTI chairman said that the party had entered talks with the government in good faith and sincerity, but the government had failed to demonstrate “generosity and seriousness”.

Barrister Gohar maintained that none of the demands presented by PTI was illegal. On terrorism, he said the party’s position was clear and called for implementation of the National Action Plan.

He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the province worst affected by terrorism and noted that its provincial assembly had unanimously passed a resolution on the issue.

He said another one or two rounds of talks could have taken the matter towards a solution, adding that after the failure of negotiations, the parties should not shift the blame onto one another.

Raja says govt can contact leadership if it wants dialogue
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said that if the government wants to hold talks, it should contact the opposition leadership — leaders of opposition in National Assembly and Senate, Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, respectively.

Speaking to the media outside the Islamabad High Court, Raja said the long march would continue until something was finalised.

He rejected claims that matters had been settled during the talks with the government, saying the opposition’s negotiating team had been given full authority to make decisions.

Raja said problems arose when the government planned operations in five districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa without consultation. He added that PTI founder Imran Khan had given Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Nasir Abbas full authority to negotiate.

“If the government wants to talk, it can contact Allama Nasir Abbas,” Raja said, adding that Achakzai and Abbas would decide whether to proceed with negotiations. Barrister Gohar says government’s talks offer is merely symbolic

‘Govt should engage with PTI’
Separately, PTI leader Asad Qaiser said the government should engage with the party over its “legitimate constitutional and legal demands”. He said peaceful protest would remain PTI’s constitutional and legal right until its demands were accepted.

In a video statement, Asad Qaiser assured that PTI’s protests were peaceful and would remain so, adding that the law would not be taken into anyone’s hands.

He said threats of imposing governor’s rule would not resolve the problems and warned that restricting the constitutional powers of the provincial government would affect the parliamentary system.

“Pakistan comes first,” he said, calling for political forces to sit at the negotiating table in the national interest. He said peace and the supremacy of the Constitution were among PTI’s demands.