Warns that the PTI founder will suffer losses due to the policy of confrontation with the State while the TTAP accepts the offer of dialogue
Rana Sanaullah, advisor to the prime minister and leader of the PML-N. Photo: APP/File
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s political affairs advisor Senator Rana Sanaullah claimed that the prime minister offered negotiations to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) after consulting Nawaz Sharif and the establishment, but believes that Imran Khan is not interested in talks.
Speaking to the media, Sanaullah said that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had determined the procedure for meetings with the jailed former prime minister, which stipulated that there would be no political activity after the meetings. However, he maintained that after the meetings the atmosphere changes, press conferences are held and even fights occur.
Read: Political dialogue stalls because the government does not comply with the prime minister’s offer
The Prime Minister’s advisor noted that Salman Akram Raja assured the court that due procedure would be followed during the meetings. If the law is followed, Sanaullah said, there will be no obstacles to gatherings, and wondered why the PTI does not go to court if the prison authorities do not comply with the IHC order.
Sanaullah said there should be no doubt about the government’s intentions towards the opposition leader. He added that when Shehbaz extended an invitation to negotiate, it was claimed that he did not have the authority.
He said the opposition now claims that when it announces a move, the government talks about negotiations. The opposition believes its movement will be successful and that the government is trying to trap it through negotiations, he added.
The adviser said the opposition should try to stop the wheels on February 5 and then talks can resume.
Sanaullah expressed his belief that the PTI founder does not want negotiations and pointed out that when the PTI is in government, it does not talk to the opposition. He warned that the founder of the PTI will suffer losses due to a policy of confrontation with the State.
Read more: Sana: No ‘minus Imran’ condition for talks
Meanwhile, Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Aeen Pakistan (TTAP) formally accepted the prime minister’s offer for political dialogue on December 24. However, no follow-up commitment has been made so far, leaving the process stuck in the declarative stage.
TTAP Vice President Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar then stated that the responsibility now lay solely with the government. He said that if the authorities did not take his offer seriously, the opposition had effectively called his bluff.
However, if the intention was genuinely to lead the country out of its political and economic crisis, Khokhar said, his party was willing to play its role in the larger national interest.
