ISLAMABAD:
The embattled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party says it has finally found the lost key and opened the door to an audience with Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir – a breakthrough much desired by the party’s founder, Imran. Khan had long sought to resurrect his flagging political fortunes, at least two confidants of the jailed former prime minister confirmed on Thursday, while the government denied any such development.
Amid frequent reprimands from the government side that the PTI was free to hold negotiations with the powerful players if it could, the PTI’s constant knocking on the door was finally answered when Barrister Gohar, PTI Chairman , and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur recently met the army chief in Peshawar and poured out their hearts before him.
To further consolidate the basis for negotiations, the incarcerated PTI founding president not only welcomed direct contact with the army chief but declared it essential to bring about political stability in the long-struggling country. with political and economic challenges.
However, the government was quick to deny the existence of the meeting, with Senator Irfan Siddiqui claiming that the meeting in question was specifically called to discuss the security situation. When specifically asked to confirm whether the COAS had a separate meeting with PTI leaders after the security meeting, the senator replied “No”, adding “No such exclusive meeting”.
Commenting on the security meeting, Senator Siddiqui said, “I can authoritatively say that during this meeting, Barrister Ali Gohar and AAG [Ali Amin Gandapur] tried to introduce political discussions and demands. However, they were explicitly told that this meeting was strictly about security and had nothing to do with politics. »
“not here.” “I stand by this statement with full authority, and everyone is free to verify or refute it from any source they choose,” he concluded.
The claim that PTI leaders had a meeting with the army chief comes at a time when the PML-N-led ruling coalition is busy holding talks with the opposition PTI to resolve issues. thorny issues between the two parties. Specifically, Khan and Gohar disclosed details of the PTI-COAS meeting just before the third round of talks between the government and opposition committees during which the PTI finally presented its charter of demands to the other side.
Details of the PTI leaders’ direct meeting with the COAS surfaced after lawyer Gohar confirmed to the media outside the Adiala jail in the garrison town that he had with the KP chief minister held a meeting with the military chief the other day, saying he was revealing the details now with the permission and on the instructions of the party chief.
In fact, the current PTI chief said that Khan himself had told journalists covering his trial that his party chairman had a crucial meeting with someone somewhere the other day – the day the PTI chief the army had visited the provincial capital over security issues. .
Sharing details of the meeting, lawyer Gohar said he met Khan inside the jail where Khan revealed to journalists the first direct meeting of his party officials with the army chief, saying that he himself only revealed details about anything when he received explicit instructions from Khan. .
“The PTI founding president welcomed this meeting, saying it is very important for the stability of the country,” Gohar quoted Khan as saying during their meeting early Thursday morning. Lawyer Gohar credited Khan with saying that his party’s doors were always open for negotiations but others had locked the doors, saying if talks have finally started, it is better for stability.
He reiterated the PTI’s demands: to constitute a judicial commission to investigate the incidents of May 9 and November 26; and free political prisoners, including Imran Khan. “I and Ali Amin Gandapur met the army chief,” Gohar was quoted as saying, adding that the meeting took place in Peshawar where “we submitted our entire matter to the army chief.”
Gohar termed the opening of talks with the army chief as a positive development, the reports added, saying all demands were put to him. The developments in the negotiations between the government and the PTI have agitated the political scene to the point that everything else has taken a back seat for now.
Nevertheless, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar maintained his history of not sharing anything on key developments. When contacted for a release, the government spokesperson did not share anything about the PTI-COAS meeting till filing the report.
