- No further rounds of negotiations will take place: Barrister Gohar.
- He says the PTI will initiate the movement in collaboration with all parties.
- Faisal Vawda says the PTI seems happy with the founder’s imprisonment.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has called off negotiations with the government over its failure to set up a judicial commission within the seven-day period, according to PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan.
Speaking to the media outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, Barrister Gohar said the party’s legal team, including himself, earlier in the day met Khan, who has been behind bars for more than a year.
During the meeting, Khan expressed frustration over the delay and said the government’s failure to act on the formation of a judicial commission leaves no reason to continue talks.
“The founder of PTI has categorically announced that no further rounds of talks will take place,” Gohar said. “The government has made announcements but has not yet fulfilled them, which is why Imran Khan decided to end the negotiations.”
This development comes as negotiations between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government and the PTI began in late December in an effort to ease political tensions. However, after weeks of talks – and three sessions have been held so far – little progress has been made on key issues.
The party founded by Khan, in its written letter of demands submitted to the government during the third session on January 16, had demanded the formation of two judicial commissions – mutually appointed by the PTI and the government within seven days – and the release of “political prisoners”.
The former ruling party’s demands to two judicial commissions concerned an investigation into the riots of May 9, 2023, as well as the events of November 24-27, 2024, in connection with its protest in Islamabad.
Elaborating on the party’s stance, Barrister Gohar said judicial commissions, if formed by the government, should comprise three senior judges of the Supreme Court or high courts.
“We will continue our fight in accordance with the Constitution and the law,” the PTI president said, adding that efforts will be made against an independent judiciary and the 26th amendment.
“We are going to start a movement in collaboration with all political parties,” he added. Lawyer Gohar further conveyed Khan’s statements and said, “As of today, the commission was supposed to be announced but it has not been announced.”
He further quoted the PTI founder as saying: “We are not waiting for help from any foreign country.”
The PTI’s announcement to end the dialogue process follows NA opposition leader Omar Ayub’s statement on Tuesday in which he called the negotiations “useless” without the formation of the judicial commission.
“The constitution of a judicial commission is necessary before the fourth round of talks,” Ayub said, referring to the next session scheduled for January 28 according to government negotiation committee member Senator Irfan Siddiqui.
The government has lamented the PTI’s “rigid attitude” with the prime minister’s assistant on political affairs, Rana Sanaullah, saying: “We would not take anything away from the PTI if it attended [fourth round of talks]…negotiations are not a decree.”
NA president Ayaz Sadiq, who is mediating the talks, said progress can never be made if one sticks to one point. “The talks should have a give and take, otherwise they would not move forward,” he said.
Meanwhile, on the very pressing issue of the judicial commission, Senator Siddiqui said that the ruling coalition was yet to decide on the matter.
Reacting to Barrister Gohar’s statement, Senator Faisal Vawda said that the government and the PTI shared the same objective during the negotiations. He said both sides aimed to ensure that the PTI founder remained in prison.
“Now they will let the government function as PTI members are happy with their founder being in prison,” Vawda said. He further alleged that the PTI is acting as a guarantor of the PML-N government.
“They supported the Government in all the amendments,” he added. “More than half of its leaders are present in KP and looting continues on both fronts,” Vawda said.
“None of them went to jail and they seem happy with the imprisonment of the PTI founder,” he said. On the day of the sentencing, they appeared distraught, but no protests took place, Vawda said.
“They are only interested in putting on a show,” he concluded.
The demands of the PTI
The PTI, in its written submission to the government’s negotiating committee, said it wanted the conduct of the proceedings of the two Commissions to be open to the general public as well as the media.
The party said it would identify political prisoners, who were arrested following the events of May 9 and November 24-24 or any other political events elsewhere.
In all, he put forward a total of 22 key demands before the government, particularly five demands regarding the formation of two commissions of inquiry.
First commission
The first commission will be tasked with conducting an in-depth investigation into the legality of the events that led to Khan’s arrest on May 9, 2023.
The commission will also investigate the legality of the manner of arrest and those responsible for the raid of the Islamabad High Court premises, from where Khan was arrested, by the Rangers and the police.
Events across the country after Khan’s arrest, particularly the circumstances under which groups of people were able to reach several high-security locations where property damage is said to have been caused, must also be investigated, he said. the PTI.
CCTV footage at each location where protesters are said to have caused damage should be investigated and, if CCTV footage is not available, the causes of this unavailability should be determined.
According to the document, the way in which those detained in connection with the events of May 9 were detained and then held in custody, as well as the circumstances of their release, should be investigated.
Second commission
This second body should be tasked with carrying out an in-depth investigation into the events of November 24-27, 2024 in Islamabad, the days when the party, led by KP CM Gandapur and Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi , marched towards Islamabad.
The PTI demanded an investigation into whether live ammunition and other forms of physical assault were used against protesters in Islamabad.
“If so, who ordered the use of live ammunition and other violent actions against protesters? To what extent was the use of force excessive? If so, who was responsible for the excessive use of force?”
The PTI demands that the number of dead, injured and missing people after the November protest be clarified.
The commission is also required to examine and determine the status of CCTV footage in various hospitals and medical facilities of Islamabad in respect of the said period, the document mentioned.
Additionally, it should be investigated whether hospital and other medical facility records were manipulated and, if so, under whose direction and command was this done? “Were hospitals prevented from disclosing information about deaths and injuries?”
