PTI chief denies contact with establishment

Gohar says if party holds talks with powers that be it will tell people about it

RAWALPINDI:

PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan has denied claims that Imran Khan's party and the powers that be are in contact, stating that if the PTI holds talks with the establishment it will not hide it.

"We are very clear that if any backdoor contact happens, we will not hide it. Currently, we have no contact with anyone, including the establishment," Goar said on Tuesday while speaking to the media in Rawalpindi.

The PTI chief clarified the opposition party has no enmity against anyone and the PTI stands with Pakistan, the Pakistan Armed Forces, and the state. "However, if the government shakes hands with us and then also strikes us, the situation will not improve," he added.

Days after an opposition alliance — the TTAP — issued its charter of demand while also announcing "a wheel-jam and shutter-down" protest at the second anniversary of 'highly rigged' Feb 8 elections, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on December 23 offered an olive branch to the PTI.

The PTI, however, stated that it could not enter talks "from a position of weakness" as it continued to make preparations for a street movement.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, who belongs to the PTI, currently leads this street movement and has visited Punjab and Sindh provinces to mobilize party supporters.

Meanwhile, the TTAP is also engaged in creating momentum for the February 8 protest.

Talking with reference to the protest, Gohar said February 8 is their symbolic day, as on that day in 2024 the PTI's mandate allegedly was stolen. "We will record our protest on February 8, and our protest will be peaceful. We appeal to people to observe a shutter-down and wheel-jam strike."

He said the PTI exists among people and it does not need any symbol. Gohar said he considers the notification of opposition leaders in the Senate and the National Assembly a good step.

"These notifications are good for the house and democracy. Both opposition leaders gave good messages in their speeches yesterday," he said. Talking with reference to the cases against Imran Khan, he said they were trying to meet Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi again, but he was busy.

He said a court sentenced Imran and his wife Busra Bibi in the Al-Qadir case on January 17, 2025, but the PTI's appeal against the sentences has not been listed for hearing so far.

He said they request the judiciary that people should get justice at their doorstep. "When the doors of justice are closed, people take the law into their own hands. Due to the lack of justice, people resort to lynching and civil war."

Barrister Gohar stated, "How long will you wait for Superman and Wonder Boys? For God's sake, the judiciary should hear the PTI founder's cases and deliver justice. There is no corruption allegation against Bushra Bibi, so why was she sentenced?" he asked.