He says ‘talks are still possible’ as PTI demands monitoring of Imran’s detention conditions
Rana Sanaullah, leader of the PML-N. SCREENSHOT
ISLAMABAD:
As the opposition party continues to denounce “persecution” and finds itself virtually locked out of its incarcerated leader, the government once again reached out to the embattled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday, renewing its invitation for dialogue in Parliament as Prime Minister’s advisor Rana Sanaullah said the ruling party still kept the door open for negotiations.
Sanaullah urged the opposition to “come, sit and talk”, while noting that the people PTI founding president Imran Khan wanted to meet, “are not willing to talk to him”.
The latest offer came during a Senate session, where PTI senator Mishal Yousafzai protested that the former prime minister was not allowed to meet. She then proposed that a parliamentary committee, headed by Rana Sanaullah, be constituted and accompanied by national and international media to check Imran’s health condition and the facilities provided to him.
Sanaullah said democracy advances through dialogue, “and not through deadlock,” recalling that the prime minister had twice invited the opposition to discussions from the hall and had even offered to meet them in the NA president’s room “if that makes things easier.”
He added that it was “on record” that the PTI was not willing to talk to the government, while those in the PTI willing to engage “are not ready”.
However, he added that certain procedural issues need to be sorted out before any meeting with a prisoner, and that the conversation PTI representatives had after their previous meeting with Imran “is also in front of everyone”.
Sanaullah further asserted that the state could not allow any prisoner to “use meetings to launch a movement against the state.”
Note here that the government, for its part, has repeatedly extended the olive branch to the opposition. However, the incarcerated former prime minister has repeatedly denounced an uneven playing field and “political persecution”, lamenting that the climate for negotiations remains far too murky to embark on in a context of legal cases and incarcerations.
The government last began its engagement with the PTI last December, after a prolonged period of political friction. Discussions have stalled despite a flurry of early moves.
The two sides met three times, on December 27, 2024, January 2 and January 16. However, the process failed when the PTI abruptly withdrew.
