As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) gears up to march on the federal capital, party founder Imran Khan has given the nod to initiate talks with “powerful quarters”, Khan’s counsel Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry has said.
“The PTI founder has agreed to hold talks in a nearly two-hour meeting with [party chairman] Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister] Ali Amin Gandapur at Adiala Jail,” Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry told a private media outlet.
Imran Khan’s counsel maintained that Barrister Gohar and CM Gandapur had visited the incarcerated former premier in jail to seek his approval for talks with the government and establishment.
The development comes as the government reportedly tries to reach out to the PTI leadership to “call off” its scheduled November 24 protest in Islamabad.
According to reports, the incumbent government’s initial contact with PTI was positive, and the party could “call off” the protest in exchange for some assurances on their demands.
Meanwhile, CM Gandapur is expected to raise the issue of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan and his party’s ongoing troubles with the establishment at an Apex Committee meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Khan’s sister Aleema Khan maintains that her brother has only given a deadline till Thursday for party leaders to hold dialogue with “powerful quarters” regarding the release of party workers.
It merits a mention that Khan’s “final call” for protests in the federal capital comes days after a foreign media outlet reported the establishment’s stance on possible negotiations.
London-based The Guardian had last week quoted senior military sources as ruling out the possibility of striking a deal or negotiating with Khan. The report came days after the former premier expressed willingness to engage in talks with the military leadership from his jail cell at Adiala.
According to reports, the British newspaper had sent a questionnaire to Khan via his legal team, and in his responses, the incarcerated PTI founder confirmed that he had not had any direct interaction with the military since after he was arrested and locked up in August 2023.
Khan, however, said he would not rule out striking a deal with the establishment.
The report quoted senior military leadership as saying that Khan, for the past few months, had been “applying pressure” for discussions with the military and had even offered to hold unconditional talks while seeking a deal for his release.
However, the military leadership was resolute in refusing to enter into any negotiations with him, the report said.