Govt uninterested in talks, claims Barrister Gohar

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Barrister Gohar Khan has accused the government of deliberately avoiding negotiations and ignoring the party’s demand for a judicial commission.

Speaking to the media outside Rawalpindi Kacheri on Wednesday, Gohar said PTI had formally requested a judicial commission to address key concerns, but the government failed to respond. "They did not want talks to take place or lead to a resolution," he claimed.

He further alleged that the authorities deliberately delayed engagement, stating, "We presented our demands, but the government took no serious steps. If they were sincere, they would have provided a timely response."

According to him, officials had promised an answer by 28 January in a committee room meeting, but PTI was not informed of any decision in advance.

Gohar emphasised that his party initiated the dialogue process despite facing intense political pressure. "Our leader, Imran Khan, remains our chairman today and will continue to be in the future," he asserted.

He also clarified that PTI’s only point of contact had been the Army Chief and denied meeting anyone else in negotiations.

Commenting on legal matters, Gohar mentioned that their case was presented before Acting Judge Zeba Chaudhry, who scheduled the next hearing.

"We hope a permanent judge will be appointed soon so the process can move forward," he said, adding that senior PTI leader Latif Khosa had drafted a strong legal case.

He reiterated that prominent figures would not influence the judicial process, saying, "No one is above the law. The court will decide based on legal merit."

Gohar was addressing reporters after appearing in court with PTI lawyers regarding a private complaint related to the party’s 26 November protest. The case remains under judicial review.

Govt keeps door ajar as PTI ends talks

The government on Tuesday kept the door for dialogue with the opposition ajar despite the announcement from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday that the talks process had ended, as its negotiating team did not show up at the Parliament House for a fourth round.

National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, who played a crucial role in bringing representatives of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led ruling coalition and the opposition PTI at the negotiations table, had invited both sides for the fourth round of talks on Tuesday.

However, the PTI boycotted the meeting. Later, the government side announced that its negotiation committee would wait until January 31 and if the PTI reversed its decision of ending the talks, the process could resume.

Earlier, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, while speaking outside the Adiala Jail after a meeting with the party founder, Imran Khan, announced that negotiations with the government had ended, adding that his party joined the negotiations with open heart, but those could not move forward.

The negotiation between the government and the opposition started on December 23, 2024, with a view to amicably finding a solution to the political and economic issues facing the country, as well as settling the long-standing thorny issues between the two sides.

However, the process hit a snag just after three sittings. The PTI had presented its charter of demands to the government in the third round, which, demanded among other things, the formation of separate judicial commissions on May 9 2023 and November 26, 2024 incidents.

Besides, the judicial commissions, the PTI charter also sought "support" of the federal and provincial governments in bail, sentence suspensions and acquittals of "political prisoners" identified by the PTI. It said that these demands were presented as a "prerequisite to wider negotiations" on other issues.

However, seven days after the third round, the PTI founder abruptly called off the dialogue, on the grounds that the government had not accepted its demands for the commission within a week's time. A day later, Barrister Gohar deviated from the statement and said that Imran had put the talks on hold.