Access to Imran becomes sticking point in talks

PTI says no charter of demands without consultation with party founder

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ISLAMABAD:

Talks between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led ruling coalition and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) hit a snag on Tuesday after the opposition's negotiating team was denied access to PTI founder Imran Khan, according to the PTI.

At a press conference, PTI leadership questioned why they were not allowed to meet their incarcerated leader, despite assurances from the government that the negotiation committee would be granted access to Imran to ensure the talks were meaningful.

The PTI and government teams had held two rounds of talks, facilitated by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. The second round took place on January 2, but no new date has been set for their third meeting.

Key PTI leaders, including Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan, National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub and others said they had not been allowed to meet Imran after the second round of the negotitions.

PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram told The Express Tribune that denying a meeting with Imran Khan was causing delay in finalising the charter of demands and affecting the talks between his party and the ruling coalition.

"It is causing delay because PTI can't give anything in writing without meeting Imran Khan," Akram said. "We need access to our leader during the negotiation process." In response to a question, Sheikh said that PTI didn't talk to the government directly for the grant of the access, rather the party contacted the Speaker's Office, which spoke to the government side.

"The facilitation is from the Speaker's Office; we don't directly deal with government on these matters," Akram said. Emphasising that the issue was raised in the meeting with the government, he said that the party also approached the Speaker Office but had been told that there was no response yet.

If the committee did not allow the meeting before the next meeting, he said, there would be no progress in the talks. "What will be discussed; the government side will ask for charter of demands and we will be telling them that we were not allowed to meet Imran," he said. "So it's just waste of time."

"If the doors of the jail can be opened at 7am for delaying a [PTI] rally then this is peoples' right," Akram said, referring to a meeting between PTI leader Azam Sawati and Imran Khan to a delay a planned rally in the capital in August. "There is no meeting in last three-and-a-half months; they should be allowed."

Formal talks between the government and the PTI began on December 23 in a bid to defuse tensions. Both sides had agreed to open formal communication channels – a move that aimed at replacing confrontation with constructive dialogue, addressing long-standing issues and seeking to steady the ship of political stability.

In the first meeting, it was decided that the PT would present its demands in writing before the committee. However, in the second meeting on January 2, the party once again sought time on grounds that it would require access to Imran for finalising its charter of demands. Till Tuesday, the party leadership said, they hadn't been facilitated in this regard, resulting in delay in talks.

At the press conference, Barrister Gohar said that the party had still not received any information about the meeting with Imran, adding that the negotiations should not be delayed in this manner. He maintained that a third meeting would only occur once the PTI founder was allowed to meet with them.

Meanwhile, Barrister Gohar said that the party's call for civil disobedience and limiting of remittances by overseas Pakistanis was still intact. He clarified that the negotiations were not about striking a deal but were for the people, stressing that no delay should occur in the negotiations.

Omar Ayub reiterated the demand for a meeting with the PTI founder, stressing that there had been no response from the government. He expressed dissatisfaction with the government's failure to facilitate a meeting without conditions.

On December 5, Ayub had highlighted that the PTI founder had established a negotiating committee and presented an agenda, stressing that the party would not tolerate any interference from institutions in the process. Just like the PTI founder, he also called for a judicial commission to investigate into the events of May 9 and November 26, and the release of Imran Khan and other PTI leaders and workers.

Ayub said that the party had submitted a demand during the last meeting with the government to facilitate a meeting with Imran in an unmonitored and unfettered way as the current conditions of the room in Adiala Jail where meetings with Imran took place were "not conducive to free and open talks".

Ayub said that the government's seriousness regarding the negotiations would be seen by enabling the PTI leaders' meeting with Imran because the party would take instructions from him. During the press conference, the party leaders said that the only solution to the country's problems was free and fair elections.