PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan has said that as the military establishment has “exhausted all its smaller options”, they had “no other option” but to hold talks with former prime minister Imran Khan.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9 in the Al-Qadir Trust case had resulted in widespread violence and saw important military installations come under attack, on the basis of which the state had launched a severe crackdown against his party, resulting in more arrests and desertions.
While having criticised the military establishment, Imran has also multiple times expressed his willingness to hold talks.
During his October 2022 long march, Imran had claimed that a dialogue was underway with the powers that be to find a solution to the country’s political crisis.
In March 2023, on one occasion, the ex-premier said he was ready to talk to army chief General Asim Munir and on another, he said he was open to talks with “anyone”. In May of the same year, he said he was ready to constitute a committee to hold dialogue with the powers that be.
Speaking to reporters at Adiala Jail on Saturday, Imran had said some PTI leaders were still in contact with the establishment and implied that he was ready to have a dialogue with anyone for the sake of the country.
In an interview on Dawn News show ‘Doosra Rukh’ aired on Sunday, Hasan said, “Even before his (Imran’s) arrest, he had formed a committee that ‘we are ready to hold talks with the [military] establishment’. Even after that, I do not think there has been any change in this policy.”
“If someone wants to initiate dialogue with us… and ultimately they will have to. They have no other option but to hold talks with Khan sahib. With the passage of time, their other smaller options are exhausting,” the PTI leader added.
Calling Imran a “formidable figure”, Hasan asserted the PTI founder was the “most powerful political leader of Pakistan today” despite being in jail.
“He (Imran) commands the heart of the people of this country”, the leader said. “There is no other option but to talk to him,” he reiterated.
When asked if the PTI leadership was on the “same page about talks with the military establishment”, Hasan said that the party had an “open stance” on the matter, noting that the incarcerated leader had often said his party was ready to have dialogue.
Responding to a query on reports of rifts within the party leadership over the distribution of Senate tickets after PTI leader Shehryar Afridi said there were some “snakes” and “hypocrites” in the party, Hasan said that all party decisions were made as per Imran’s will.
“PTI means Imran Khan. No one is worthy of gaining even a single vote [if not for Imran]. The vote is his. Nothing happens without his will. It isn’t like he is a dictator but his word matters to everybody in the party. Every decision of the party is taken as per his will,” he emphasised.
The PTI spokesperson lamented that it had become difficult for party leaders to meet the former premier at Adiala Jail, highlighting that a recent meeting was the “first time in seven months since he was in jail that the party’s political leadership” met with Imran.
