Gohar claims Imran never ordered the dialogue to stop; According to him, “people from within” are the cause of the party’s misfortunes
Gohar Ali Khan, President of PTI. PHOTO: EXPRESS
RAWALPINDI:
The embattled PTI appears divided on how to respond to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s offer of talks, with the party president striking a conciliatory tone and the general secretary setting preconditions.
On Tuesday, PTI leaders and Imran Khan’s family members were once again denied permission to meet the PTI founder incarcerated at Adiala jail, leading to a protest.
Speaking to reporters, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan said that not only outsiders but also “insiders” were complicit in forcing them to “beg” authorities to meet the PTI founder.
“No matter how intense the street movement, there is no alternative to dialogue,” he said, adding that Imran had not given any instructions to stop the negotiations.
On December 28, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and PTI general secretary Salman Akram Raja told reporters that the PTI would move towards dialogue with the government only after ensuring a “level playing field” through sustained street protests.
They had rejected the idea of starting negotiations from a “position of weakness”.
Speaking with reference to the statement, Gohar said CM Afridi’s visit to Lahore was not based on party consultation but was carried out on the explicit instructions of the PTI founder.
He explained that every Tuesday they come to Adiala prison to ask for an appointment, but after waiting for the agreed time, they are forced to return. “I call on those in power to show mercy to the country. The system stopped just to stop us,” he said.
Gohar said that although a ceasefire was reached with external enemies, internal political tensions continued unabated. He fears that 2026 will also be a year of punishment.
He reiterated that the PTI never called off the negotiations nor did it receive any directive from the party founder to stop the negotiations.
He confirmed that instructions regarding the street movement had been issued and stressed that protesting is their constitutional right. Sohail Afridi, he said, was given responsibility for the street movement on the instructions of its founder, and the party fully supports him.
He added that opposition party alliance leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Senator Allama Nasir Abbas Raja were allowed to hold negotiations.
He warned that if political coldness persists, the country will not emerge from the crisis, urging all parties to shed their egos and make space for each other.
Speaking to the media near the factory checkpoint near Adiala jail, Salman Akram Raja said Mahmood Khan Achakzai had clearly stated that breaking into someone’s house, looting it and then calling for talks made no sense.
He said meaningful negotiations would only be possible when the government reinstates meetings with the PTI founder. He recalled that negotiations had also taken place in December 2024 and January 2025, but no progress had been made beyond a symbolic commitment.
“If the government is sincere, he said, it must facilitate meetings with the founder of the party,” he added.
Raja rejected the use of the word “begging” for the negotiations, clarifying that the PTI would not beg.
He asked on what principle the PTI founder was placed in solitary confinement, reiterating that discussions without access to the founder would legitimize injustice.
He said PTI leaders would continue to come to Adiala Road to raise awareness in the state even though they knew that meetings would not be allowed.
The previous authorities had not allowed any party leader or Imran Khan’s sisters to meet the former prime minister despite the scheduled day for the meetings.
The PTI founder’s sisters – Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Dr Uzma Khan – arrived late due to fog on the highway, after the meeting hour was over, and were stopped by police at the factory checkpoint.
Led by the founder’s sisters, the PTI staged a sit-in on Adiala Road that continued late into the night. A large number of female workers also participated.
Police cordoned off all roads leading to Adiala jail with heavy deployment. They closed business centers, petrol pumps, shops and markets, causing serious inconvenience to residents in the surrounding areas.
