Gohar Ali Khan, President of PTI. PHOTO: EXPRESS
RAWALPINDI:
PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan has rubbished allegations that Imran Khan’s party and the powers that be are in touch, saying if PTI is talking to the establishment, it will not hide it.
“We are very clear that if any backdoor contact happens, we will not hide it. Currently, we have no contact with anyone, including the establishment,” Goar said on Tuesday while speaking to media in Rawalpindi.
The PTI leader clarified that the opposition party has no enmity against anyone and the PTI stands with Pakistan, Pakistan Armed Forces and the state. “However, if the government shakes our hands and then hits us, the situation will not improve,” he added.
Days after an opposition alliance – TTAP – released its charter of demands while also announcing “wheel locks and shutdowns” on the second anniversary of the “highly rigged” February 8 elections, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on December 23 offered an olive branch to the PTI.
The PTI, however, said it could not enter the negotiations “from a position of weakness” as it continued to prepare for a street movement.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, who belongs to PTI, is currently leading this street movement and has visited Punjab and Sindh provinces to mobilize party supporters.
Meanwhile, TTAP is also working to build momentum for the February 8 protest.
Speaking in reference to the protest, Gohar said that February 8 is their symbolic day because on this day in 2024, PTI’s mandate would have been stolen. “We will register our protest on February 8 and our protest will be peaceful. We call on the population to observe a shutter closing and wheel blocking strike.”
He said that PTI exists among people and it does not need any symbol. Gohar said he considers the notification of opposition leaders in the Senate and National Assembly a good step.
“These notifications are good for the House and democracy. Both opposition leaders conveyed good messages in their speeches yesterday,” he said. Talking about the cases against Imran Khan, he said that they were trying to meet Pakistan Chief Justice Yahya Afridi again, but he was busy.
He said a court had convicted Imran and his wife Busra Bibi in the Al-Qadir case on January 17, 2025, but the PTI’s appeal against the convictions was yet to be heard.
He said they were demanding the justice system that people get justice at their doorsteps. “When the doors of justice are closed, people take the law into their own hands. Due to lack of justice, people resort to lynching and civil war.”
Attorney Gohar said: “How long are you going to wait for Superman and Wonder Boys? For God’s sake, the judiciary should hear the cases of the PTI founder and deliver justice. There are no allegations of corruption against Bushra Bibi, so why was she convicted? he asked.
