ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister for Information and Public Relations Shafi Jan said negotiations with the government could not move forward unless the February 8 electoral mandate was placed on the table, ruling out participation in talks merely for optics.
Speaking on a private television programme, Shafi Jan said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was not opposed to dialogue but insisted that any negotiations must be meaningful and conditional. He said the party had shifted its focus towards a street movement, adding that the government renewed talk of negotiations only after this change in strategy.
He claimed the dialogue process had reached a deadlock and maintained that PTI had attempted to initiate talks two to three times in the past without success. He said discussions that ignored the February 8 mandate would serve no purpose.
Responding to the remarks, Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik accused PTI of creating hurdles in the negotiation process. He said senior PTI leader Salman Akram Raja had submitted an affidavit to the court stating that he would not speak to the media outside Adiala Jail.
Barrister Aqeel Malik said the government’s approach was focused on maintaining peace and security. He explained that visitors to Adiala Jail were required to submit affidavits to the jail superintendent, committing that they would not engage in political discussions or make media statements after meetings.
“The purpose of the affidavit is to ensure that peace and order are maintained and that no security concerns arise,” he said.
The minister alleged that PTI leaders, lawyers and family members had repeatedly violated jail rules. He claimed attempts were made to give protests a religious colour by staging sit-ins on roads outside Adiala Jail and questioned why details of jail meetings were later discussed on television programmes.
Barrister Aqeel Malik said Parliament remained the appropriate forum for negotiations and added that the government’s negotiation committee had not been dissolved. He also alleged confusion within PTI, including differences between the party founder and its leadership, over the issue of talks.
He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had repeatedly offered dialogue and insisted that the government had created a conducive environment for negotiations.
The exchange underlined growing mistrust between the government and PTI, with both sides blaming each other for the stalled dialogue and little sign of an immediate breakthrough.
