Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Friday that “serious talks” can only take place with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
His statement came at a time when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is trying to negotiate with “those in power” after May 9.
The interior minister said in a tweet that “if you want to negotiate seriously, the negotiations will be with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif only”.
اگر سنجیدہ مذاکرات چاہتے ہیں تو وہ صرف وزیراعظم جناب #شہبازشریف سے ہی ہو سکتے ہیں۔
— Rana SanaUllah Khan (@RanaSanaullahPK) June 2, 2023
PTI Chairman Imran Khan, who was adamant not to hold talks with the current leaders whom he called “thieves”, has now changed his stance and is willing to hold talks with the government.
For this, he mentioned PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, former Defense Minister Pervez Khattak, former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Shaikh, former ministers Murad Saeed, Hammad Azhar and former ministers. A seven-member committee was formed. Aoun Abbasi
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif had recently asked Khan, while forming a negotiating team, to form an “alternative” committee as people kept leaving his party.
And this happened when Pervaiz Khattak announced his resignation from the post of PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President a day ago.
Senior government ministers have ruled out talks with the PTI chief, but Sanaullah has previously hinted that there may be room for talks.
In an interview with Voice of America (VOA), Sanaullah extended the assurance that Prime Minister Shehbaz would respond “positively” if the PTI chief approached him for talks.
The interior minister said that it is a pity that Khan creates committees for negotiations but refuses to sit with political opponents.
But in the same interview, the minister said that from the government’s point of view, it is not the right time to start talks with the PTI as it might hurt the sentiments of the families of the martyrs due to the May 9 incidents.
About 100 PTI leaders have left the four provinces and thousands more are expected to be behind bars for their involvement in vandalism.
After Khan’s party was arrested on May 9 – a day dubbed “Black Day” by the military – his party activists torched and vandalized military installations, including the general headquarters in Rawalpindi. After the outbreak, the state is feeling the heat of power.
