ISLAMABAD – Government–opposition leaders held another round of meeting on Saturday in which PTI sought a meeting with jailed founder Imran Khan.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) put forward a demand for a meeting with the incarcerated party founder, who has remained in jail for years. The negotiations were held under the chairmanship of National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, with representatives of the government, the opposition and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) participating in the discussions.
During the meeting, government representative Amir Muqam said the opposition had been asked a day earlier to cancel the long march to create a conducive environment for negotiations.
However, he pointed out that PTI leader Sohail Afridi subsequently announced on social media that the long march would take place at 1 p.m. the following day, raising questions about the opposition’s commitment to the negotiation process.
A government representative also expressed concern over what he described as inappropriate language directed at senior government leaders, questioning whether the opposition’s negotiating delegation had sufficient authority to make decisions on behalf of its leadership.
In response, PTI delegation reportedly put forward its own conditions for withdrawing the long march announcement. The party demanded that Asad Qaiser and Barrister Gohar be allowed to meet PTI’s founder before a decision to call off the protest could be announced.
The demand emerged as a key issue in the talks, with the opposition seeking to address its concerns while the government pressed for the immediate withdrawal of the long march announcement.
The negotiations also faced questions over trust after opposition members raised objections to a tweet by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.
Opposition representatives questioned the appropriateness of the tweet and stressed that confidence between the two sides would have to be restored if the dialogue was to make progress.
Pakistan Peoples Party called on PTI to cancel long march unconditionally, arguing that negotiations could move forward only after the protest announcement was withdrawn.
The government’s negotiating committee also warned that the recent wave of terrorism made the situation particularly sensitive. According to sources, government representatives argued that a large march could create an opportunity for terrorists to join the gathering, a risk they said could not be tolerated.
