Protest movement will continue until rulers come to the table after recognizing opposition as equal partner, says Afridi
LAHORE:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s leadership said the party will move towards dialogue with the government only after ensuring a “level playing field” through sustained street protests, rejecting the notion of starting talks from a position of weakness.
The stance was outlined by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja during a series of meetings in Lahore, where party leaders gathered to launch a new street movement on the directives of jailed party founder Imran Khan.
Speaking to reporters at the Defense Housing Authority in Lahore, Afridi said reconciliation without resistance is not an option. “We will be lost if we engage in dialogue without resistance,” he said. “The protest movement will continue until the rulers come to the table after recognizing the opposition as an equal partner.”
Addressing criticism that repeated protests had failed to achieve tangible results, the prime minister said the party would avoid making exaggerated claims and focus on “practical work” aimed at producing results.
Raja echoed the position and said no political party could afford to enter a “dead end”. He accused the government of trying to silence the PTI on issues it considers fundamental, including alleged electoral irregularities, the continued imprisonment of Imran Khan and what the party calls institutional interference in politics and journalism.
“If they tell us not to talk about these issues, what space is there left for politics?” -Raja asked. He said dialogue could only begin once basic principles were agreed, warning that otherwise the party would continue to mobilize supporters in the streets.
After the meeting, Afridi attempted to visit the families of jailed PTI leaders, including former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema and lawyer Hassan Niazi. He told reporters that he was prevented from entering the Lahore cantonment area, which he said had been declared a prohibited zone.
“They told me they weren’t allowing me in,” Afridi said, questioning the restriction and demanding that the reasons be explained in writing. He said he even offered to proceed without his security team, but was still denied access.
Raja described the treatment as inappropriate and said the Punjab government should not have acted so harshly towards the current provincial chief minister.
Later in the day, Afridi met Hassan Niazi’s mother Noreen Khan and other family members at the residence of Punjab Assembly member Zamirul Hassan Bhatti. During the meeting, Afridi expressed solidarity with the families of the imprisoned PTI leaders and offered prayers for the early release of the political detainees. Participants highlighted the importance of legal justice, moderation and dialogue, while calling for respect for the human rights of prisoners.
The developments came days after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered talks with the opposition, while maintaining that any dialogue would be limited to what he described as “legitimate issues.”
For now, PTI leaders say the path to negotiations lies through public mobilization, not silent compromise, indicating that political tensions are likely to persist in the short term.
