Gohar claims that Imran never ordered to stop the dialogue; He says that “the people inside” are the cause of the party’s problems
PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan. PHOTO: EXPRESS
RAWALPINDI:
The embattled PTI appears divided over how to respond to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s offer of talks, with the party president adopting a conciliatory tone and the general secretary setting preconditions.
On Tuesday, PTI leaders and Imran Khan’s family members were once again denied permission to meet the imprisoned PTI founder in Adiala Jail, sparking a protest.
Speaking to reporters, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan said that not only outsiders but also “insiders” were complicit in forcing them to “beg” the authorities for a meeting with the PTI founder.
“No matter how intense a street movement is, there is no alternative to dialogue,” he said, adding that Imran was not instructed to stop negotiations.
On December 28, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja told reporters that the PTI would move towards dialogue with the government only after ensuring a “level playing field” through sustained street protests.
They had rejected the idea of starting talks from “a position of weakness.”
Speaking with reference to the statement, Gohar said that CM Afridi’s visit to Lahore was not based on a party consultation but was carried out on explicit instructions of the PTI founder.
He said that every Tuesday they come to Adiala jail to seek a meeting, but after waiting until the designated time, they are forced to return. “I appeal to those in power to show mercy to the country. The system has been paralyzed just to stop us,” he said.
Gohar said that while a ceasefire was reached with external enemies, internal political tensions continued unabated. He fears that 2026 could also become a year of punishments.
He reiterated that the PTI has never called off the talks and has not received any directive from the party founder that the talks should end.
He confirmed that instructions have been issued regarding street movement and emphasized that protest is their constitutional right. Sohail Afridi, he said, has been given the responsibility of the street movement on the instructions of the founder, and the party fully supports him.
He added that the head of the alliance of opposition parties, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, and Senator Allama Nasir Abbas Raja have been authorized to carry out negotiations.
He warned that if political coldness continued, the country would not emerge from the crisis, and urged all parties to shed their egos and make space for each other.
Speaking to the media near the factory check post near Adiala Jail, Salman Akram Raja said that Mahmood Khan Achakzai had clearly stated that breaking into someone’s house, ransacking it and then calling for talks was meaningless.
He said meaningful negotiations will be possible only once the government restores meetings with the PTI founder. He recalled that negotiations were also held in December 2024 and January 2025, but no progress was achieved beyond the symbolic commitment.
“If the government is sincere, it should facilitate meetings with the founder of the party,” he said.
Raja rejected the use of the word “beg” in the negotiations and clarified that the PTI would not beg.
He questioned under what principle the PTI founder had been placed in solitary confinement, reiterating that talks without access to the founder would legitimize injustice.
He said PTI leaders would continue to come to Adiala Road to raise awareness in the state, even though they knew that gatherings would not be allowed.
The previous authorities did not allow any party leader or sisters of Imran Khan to meet the former prime minister despite the scheduled day for the meetings.
PTI founder Aleema Khan’s sisters, Noreen Niazi and Dr Uzma Khan, arrived late due to fog on the highway, after the meeting time had ended, and were stopped by the police at the factory check post.
Led by the founder’s sisters, the PTI staged a sit-in on Adiala Road that continued late into the night. A large number of female workers also participated.
The police sealed all routes leading to Adiala jail with intense deployment. They closed business centres, petrol pumps, shops and markets, causing serious inconvenience to residents in the surrounding areas.
