PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram on Thursday said party founder Imran Khan has authorized the party to submit written demands during the next meeting with the government amid ongoing negotiations.
The information secretary echoed PTI president Advocate Gohar Ali Khan, who said on Wednesday that Imran had allowed submission of the party’s demands in writing to the government.
Since Imran’s imprisonment last year, in several cases, the PTI’s relations with the government and the establishment have deteriorated sharply, marked by protests that frequently escalated into violence amid state repression.
Following the agitation, Imran set up a five-member committee to hold talks with “anyone”, signaling a change in the stance of PTI lawmakers in Parliament. In response, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also formed a committee with members of the ruling coalition.
The first meeting between the two sides took place on December 23, while the second took place on January 2. So far, the two sides have not made significant progress. The government and opposition will meet again, possibly this week.
After delays, PTI leaders finally gained access to Imran this week. After the meeting, PTI leaders held a press conference in which they demanded an “unsupervised” meeting with the party founder.
Addressing a press conference along with PTI MNA Shahid Khattak, Akram said that even though the committee was not granted uninterrupted access, Imran has directed it to formally submit written demands.
“We have not been able to access Imran for three and a half months,” Akram lamented. “We couldn’t have an informative discussion.”
“Despite the lack of access, he showed seriousness,” Akram said. “He told us to write down our demands and present them [to the government].”
The information secretary added that these demands would be “drafted and presented” during the third meeting between the government and PTI committees.
Akram added that Imran also directed the committee to form the judicial commission to investigate the events of May 9, 2023 and November 26, 2024.
“Imran made it very clear that there is a need to form the judicial commission during this third meeting,” Akram said. “He said that if it is not done, he will think that the negotiations are not serious and it will be impossible to continue talks.”
However, the PTI information secretary questioned the government’s ability to meet or enforce the PTI’s demands.
“The government cannot arrange a meeting with Imran Khan in a jail in the province governed by its own prime minister,” he said, referring to the Punjab chief minister.
“If they can’t do that, how can we be sure they will enforce our demands? This raises a big question mark on the government,” he said, adding that the formation of the judicial commission in the third meeting “will show how serious the government is about continuing talks.”
