PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja on Saturday said that recent remarks by senior party leader Azam Swati regarding a potential deal with the establishment have no connection with the beleaguered party.
He said he was unaware of any ongoing dialogue between the party and the establishment.
Speaking to the media outside Lahore's anti-terrorism court (ATC), Raja said that Swati might have been acting independently when he claimed to be in contact with key power brokers to negotiate a deal "for the sake of the country".
"I can only confirm any such development after meeting PTI founding chairman Imran Khan. The situation is unclear until then," Raja said. "We are not being allowed to meet him, and there is considerable confusion." "We do not support abductions or unlawful detentions. If a dialogue can ensure citizens' basic rights and personal freedoms, we would welcome it. But we cannot accept anything less," he said.
The party secretary general further said the PTI has always advocated for the rule of law, supremacy of the constitution and the country.
"That is our core ideology. If the process moves forward from here, that is fine, but if anyone thinks we're looking for a backdoor exit, that's simply not true."
He added that the situation would become clearer once a meeting is held with PTI founder Imran Khan. "The reason they're not allowing us to meet the founder of PTI is to create ambiguity. Only after that meeting will we know whether he has authorised any dialogue," Raja said.
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