ISLAMABAD: On Thursday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah accused Imran Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of abandoning negotiations with the government.
The federal minister claimed in an interview that the PTI was in contact with the government and that Parvez Khattak and Asad Qaiser, two senior PTI figures, had agreed to hold talks, but that they changed their minds after the Supreme Court ordered them to meet and update the court by 4 o’clock. “Imran Khan also declared that he was open to speaking. Although PTI’s position was flexible, everything changed abruptly. A number of petitions, including one from PTI, regarding the postponement of the Punjab Assembly elections are being heard by a three-member bench led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial.
The court had instructed on April 20 that the rivals should hold parleys on elections and apprise the court the same day, however, after the break, the government informed the bench that they will hold parleys with PTI during the Eid holidays.
Sanaullah, while referring to the SC order, said that the PTI backtracked after the apex court issued directives.
“They [Asad Qaisaer and Parvez Khattak] also assured that they would sit on April 26 but then Imran Khan withdrew their mandate.”
The minister added that Kh Saad Rafique and Ayaz Sadiq had contacted PTI leaders and he has proof of this.
Sanaullah added that Khan torpedoed these efforts by announcing that they were not authorised and that Qureshi is tasked to hold talks on behalf of the PTI.
When asked to comment about the SC hearing today, he said that the response that Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan has to give is quite satisfactory
“The coalition parties have decided not to close the door of negotiations and they should be done through parliament.”
The Supreme Court will be informed about the parliament’s forum for negotiations, he added.
