TTAP says 'there will be no talks' until meeting with Imran, health update

The Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Aain Pakistan (TTAP) on Thursday announced it would suspend all negotiations with the government until Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan was allowed to meet his family and his doctors were granted access to him, declaring that “there will be no talks” until his health information was provided.

The announcement came a day after the National Assembly and Senate endorsed the imposition of an emergency in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), deepening the political standoff between the government and opposition despite recent attempts to reach an understanding through dialogue.

“Until a meeting with Imran is arranged and information about his health is provided, there will be no talks with the government,” the alliance said in a statement shared on X after a meeting chaired by its chairman, Mahmood Khan Achakzai. It added that all authority to negotiate with the government would rest exclusively with Achakzai.

The alliance also demanded the release of Imran’s sisters and access to him for his doctors, as well as the immediate release of non-functional K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, provincial Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar and all arrested members of the national and provincial assemblies and party leaders.

The statement strongly condemned the imposition of governor’s rule and an emergency in K-P, describing the measures as “an attack on the Constitution and the public mandate”. It demanded that the decisions be withdrawn immediately, adding that the alliance’s constituent parties would challenge them in the Peshawar High Court.

The National Assembly and Senate on Wednesday approved the emergency proclamation for K-P by majority vote, following the federal government’s decision to impose the measure alongside governor’s rule on October 11. The government has defended the move on security grounds, citing the province’s deteriorating law and order situation and the need for greater coordination in counterterrorism efforts.

The alliance also called for the release of human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari, her husband Hadi Chatha, Dr Mahrang Baloch and all political prisoners associated with the Baloch Yakjehti Committee.

Read: Bilawal offers to approach PM for ending K-P emergency if PTI agrees to political dialogue

It reiterated its opposition to all forms of terrorism, including violence against civilians by the state, attacks by state institutions against political parties and sectarian violence. The alliance expressed support for the National Action Plan but called for the immediate implementation of a joint resolution passed by a peace jirga in the K-P Assembly, rather than the adoption of new policies.

On Balochistan, TTAP blamed the worsening security situation on what it called an unrepresentative provincial government and failed federal policies. It called for the province’s problems to be resolved through dialogue with its people rather than the use of force.

The statement also expressed concern over the situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, alleging that an “artificial system” had been imposed on its people and condemning what it said was the deprivation of internet access and basic necessities for five months.

The alliance said restrictions on judicial independence and the media had prompted it to approach international human rights organisations and the United Nations to highlight what it described as human rights violations and breaches of the Constitution in Pakistan.

Bilawal renews call for dialogue

A day earlier, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari renewed call for dialogue in the National Assembly.

“Even today, I invite you to come and hold talks with the government and political parties and create conditions in which there will be no need for this emergency in K-P,” Bilawal told the House. He said he would personally ask the prime minister to end the emergency if such conditions were created.

Bilawal also stressed the need for political cooperation to address terrorism, saying an emergency alone could not provide a lasting solution to the province’s security challenges.