ISLAMABAD, JAN 12: In a major breakthrough, members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) negotiation team are finally meeting its incarcerated founder-chairman Imran Khan at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail today (Sunday) following much ado.
The meeting is being attended by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub, former NA speaker Asad Qaiser, Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) head Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas.
The much-awaited meeting — preceded by KP CM Gandapur’s one-hour-long one-on-one meeting with Khan — is taking place without PTI Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja and senior leader Hamid Khan, who are also part of the former ruling party’s negotiation committee currently involved in ongoing parleys with the government, but have not yet reached the facility so far.
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The meeting comes after a NA spokesperson said that a telephonic conversation was held between Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and PTI’s Ayub and Qaiser where the latter requested a meeting between the negotiation committee and Khan.
The spokesperson, however, added that the NA speaker only played the role of a messenger and that the government should arrange the said meeting that was organised by the PML-N-led government in light of the NA speaker’s message.
With only those individuals set to be allowed to meet Khan whose names have been provided to the jail administration, the sources said that the PTI negotiation committee would contact the speaker after the meeting which would then be followed by the third round of talks between the two sides.
The PTI would have to submit its written demands in the third session likely to be held either on Monday or Tuesday, added the speaker’s office sources.
The prospective meeting, if it goes through, will be a significant breakthrough in the seemingly stalled parleys between the incumbent government and the PTI as it had emerged as a key hurdle for the convening of the third round of talks.
The two sides have held two negotiation sessions on December 27, 2024, and January 2, 2025, wherein it was decided that the former ruling party would present its “charter of demands” in the next session after meeting its founder who has been behind bars at Adiala jail for more than a year.
The parleys, however, hit a snag due to the PTI’s inability to meet Khan, which it argued was necessary for consulting the party’s stalwart regarding presenting its demands in writing.
The “pause” in talks was attributed to NA Speaker Sadiq’s foreign visit by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah. However, the lower house’s custodian on Saturday threw the ball in the government’s court saying the government and its allies were to decide on the issue and he was not responsible for the PTI delegation’s meeting with the deposed premier.
Speaking to Geo News, PTI negotiator Senator Abbas said that he hoped the meeting would be held in a surveillance-free environment.
“It is important to meet [Khan] now, and there should be a suitable place and time [for it], said the lawmaker while stressing that the huddle should at least be given enough time to discuss the issues sufficiently.
The Khan-founded party — which has called for the release of its founder and their workers, the formation of a judicial commission on the events of the May 9 riots, and last year’s November 26 protests — has set January 31 as the cut-off date to reach a “logical conclusion” in the government-PTI negotiations, a deadline which the government has urged an extension to.
The PTI, which has secured Khan’s approval to present their demands in writing and hold a third round of talks, has warned that the talks would collapse if a judicial commission for investigating the events of May 9, 2023, and November 26 were not formed after the third session.
“Fourth round of talks is highly unlikely if the government does not accept our demand of a judicial commission,” said SIC head Raza who is part of the PTI’s negotiation team.
The remarks reflect those of PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar, who — quoting Khan — warned that the talks could not progress further if the party’s negotiators were not permitted to meet the incarcerated founder.
The party, while referring to the criticism hurled towards it, has also accused Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Maryam Nawaz and Khawaja Asif of sabotaging the dialogue process.
In a video statement, senior PTI leader and former NA speaker Qaiser, a day earlier, claimed that the duo was trying their best to make the negotiation process “unsuccessful”.
Meanwhile, criticising Khan’s post on the popular social media platform, X, Defence Minister Asif said that the negotiations should continue that “there is no issue in allowing PTI negotiators to meet the ex-PM” and that it should be allowed to take place.
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