Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Friday said PTI leaders were seeking dialogue with the government, but jailed party founder Imran Khan opposed the move even as the party remained firm on its call for protests on February 8.
In December, the PTI had denied dialogue with the government until “ensuring a level-playing field” was provided to the party through its ongoing “street movement” — an agitation campaign against the government.
Speaking during Geo News’s programme Naya Pakistan with Shahzad Iqbal, Sanaullah said that the government had been in contact with PTI leaders for dialogue, stating that “several of them are in favour of negotiations with the government.”
“Whenever politicians come to the table for talks, problems get solved, and a way gets paved,” he said.
Sanaullah reiterated that many PTI leaders were in favour of dialogue, but “whenever they meet us, they say that the PTI founder is not in favour of any sort of dialogue with the government,” he added.
He further said that PTI’s arrangement, speeches, and mobilisation efforts for the upcoming protest on Feb 8 indicated that they were “standing firm on their decision and wouldn’t step back as per the government’s assessment”.
“However,” he added, “the PTI leaders think that if they get to meet Imran, they could convince him to postpone the protest and initiate dialogue with the government.”
When asked about the meeting of PTI leaders with Imran, Sanaullah said: “They have gone too far now; any initiation of dialogues or meeting with Imran Khan can be possible only after Feb 8.”
“They are preparing for the protest at full throttle, so meeting them before that would not be possible,” he said.
The former interior minister also implied that the government would deal with the protests “administratively”, and PTI would emerge “unsuccessful”.
He advised the PTI to “play its role” in the parliamentary processes and return to the committee proceedings from which they had abstained.
Earlier, PTI leader Barrister Ali Zafar had said that no dialogue could be held with the government until it allowed meetings with Imran.
It further maintained that it would not engage in negotiations with the government, as the stance it followed was in line with the directions passed on by Imran.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reiterated his offer for talks with the opposition but also emphasised that dialogue between the two sides could only proceed on “legitimate matters”.
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