RAWALPINDI:
After days of uncertainty and bickering, the deadlock in talks between the PTI and the government appeared to have been cleared on Wednesday when jailed former ruling party supremo Imran Khan gave the green light to submit demands in writing, clearing the way for the negotiations. progress and help cool the political temperature.
The main stumbling block was the failure of the embattled party to submit a written letter of demands, with party leaders expressing growing frustration at the government’s fixation on technicalities. They insisted that verbal demands made at previous meetings should be taken as written demands.
However, the PTI’s reluctant decision to put its demands in writing on Wednesday, despite claiming it was not necessary, came after a long-awaited meeting between the PTI negotiating team and the former prime minister at Adiala Jail. .
The meeting followed a pause of several days, during which PTI leaders insisted on seeing their leader before the third round of talks could begin.
The PTI delegation, which included Barrister Gohar, Ali Zafar and Sher Afzal Marwat, met Imran Khan in a courtroom in Adiala Jail, clearing up some ambiguity that plagued the talks for days.
In recent days, negotiations have been marred by uncertainty due to the PTI’s inability to put its demands in writing and meet its jailed founder.
For days, the party had claimed that the Adiala jail authorities were blocking its efforts to meet Imran, linking the submission of its demands to this very meeting.
Addressing the media after the meeting, PTI president Advocate Gohar Ali Khan confirmed that the party would submit its two main demands in writing. He stated: “We will present our two demands in writing because, although it is not necessary, we do not want [delay the talks] using it as a reason. Khan sahab has given us permission and said that we should give him [our demands] in writing, so we’ll do it.”
Gohar also weighed in on accusations that the negotiations were simply a means to secure a “deal.” He dismissed the idea and reiterated that the engagement with the government was intended to benefit the country and had a “limited purpose.”
When asked about the comments of Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan, who claimed that her brother had received several offers from the authorities through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Gohar downplayed the issue, casting doubt on its importance. He insisted that the PTI had not acted on any such “offer” during its interactions with the government.
