No talks with govt at present, says Gohar

Dismisses reports of Azad Kashmir poll boycott

PESHAWAR:

PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan said his party currently holds no substantive negotiations with the government, adding that the responsibility for moving the process forward rests with those who hold real authority.

"The PTI has authorised Mahmood Achakzai to represent the party in dialogue efforts. Achakzai demonstrated political maturity by shaking hands with the prime minister. If anyone considers this our weakness, they are mistaken," Gohar said while speaking to reporters on Wednesday.

Emphasising that political disputes should be resolved politically, the PTI chief said every public office-holder has a responsibility to seek solutions to national issues.

Gohar said the PTI had not yet made any decision regarding the Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections and would announce its stance within the next two days.

He clarified that the party has not decided to boycott the AJK elections and termed a notification circulating on social media regarding a boycott as "completely fake."

Gohar said the situation in Kashmir was extremely serious, describing the region as Pakistan's "jugular vein." He said the PTI was closely monitoring developments and would make important decisions regarding Kashmir within the next few days.

He urged that political expediency be given a chance and said if the people of Kashmir were protesting over their grievances, their demonstrations should remain peaceful. He also called on the government to avoid bloodshed.

Commenting on reports regarding the replacement of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi with some other party lawmaker, he said Afridi was not being replaced and that there was currently no candidate in the provincial assembly who could take over the position.

He said disgruntled PTI lawmakers had been invited to Islamabad for a meeting later in the day, where their concerns would be heard. "There is no forward bloc in PTI," he said, adding that the party remained united.

The PTI chairman complained that the party had repeatedly been deprived of its electoral symbol, saying this had created serious difficulties in elections held in Haripur, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.

Turning to PTI founder Imran Khan's imprisonment, Barrister Gohar expressed serious concern over restrictions on meetings and medical facilities.

He claimed that despite 250 days having passed, no one had been allowed to meet the PTI founder in jail. He demanded that the meeting schedule be restored immediately. He also called for Imran Khan to receive medical treatment at a hospital chosen by his family.

Commenting on the K-P budget, Gohar said the provincial government had presented an excellent budget but had been compelled to present a deficit budget due to financial constraints.

He accused the federal government of failing to provide the K-P with its due share under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award. He also criticised the imposition of taxes in the former Fata and Pata regions, calling the decision inappropriate.