The Pakistani governing coalition criticizes Imran Khan’s party for wanting to hold talks with the military establishment

LAHORE, April 28: Leaders of Pakistan’s coalition government have criticized former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party for only wanting to engage in dialogue with the powerful military. They say she should not cry for civilian supremacy if she wants to involve the military in politics.
The comments from coalition government leaders came after Shehryar Afridi, a senior leader of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), claimed on Friday that the party would hold talks but not with the Bilawal Bhutto-Zardai-led Pakistanis. Party (PPP) or the ruling PML-N after their recent overtures.
At a press conference in Lahore, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart Khawaja Saad Rafiq said the 71-year-old Khan’s PTI should not cry for civilian supremacy if it wants to hold negotiations with the military leadership, Geo News reported . .
Claiming that the PTI leader’s comments on the negotiations had cost everything, Rafique said, “Imran Khan’s traditional pattern of behavior is that he puts one hand on their neck and the other on their feet.”
“He shouts outside that he is the standard-bearer of freedom and begs for negotiations behind the door,” Rafique said, adding that the politicians should communicate with each other later, if not sooner.
Meanwhile, PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah, while appearing on a Geo News show, said the PTI party’s mindset was not political as it aimed to grab power through the establishment.
“They (PTI) say they will negotiate with them (the establishment) but when it comes to blaming, they throw us (the government) in the mud for everything,” Sanaullah said.
PPP Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi also alleged that the PTI was “inviting the military to interfere in politics,” the report said.
He said the political party was of the view that it would not hold talks with politicians and would only talk to the army chief and the director general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
“The Sunni Ittehad Council and the PTI are inviting the military to enter politics. The PPP has always been against the involvement of the military in politics,” he said.
He said the PTI should realize that they had to hold talks with the political opponents instead of expecting a missed call from somewhere else, referring to the military establishment.
Meanwhile, PTI leader Shibli Faraz, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, on Saturday reiterated the party’s readiness to hold talks with the ‘real’ stakeholders provided a ‘suitable atmosphere’ is ensured that the public the party’s mandate can be fulfilled. is respected and the cases against the workers and leaders are dropped, the Dawn newspaper reported.
When asked if the PTI was ready to hold negotiations with political parties, Faraz said that as a political party it is always ready to hold talks.
“However, there must be an atmosphere conducive to negotiations, which must be conducted within the parameters of the Constitution. The current atmosphere is not suitable for negotiations,” an insider quoted the PTI leader as saying in the report.
He also said that negotiations will be held with those who have the real power. However, he did not say whether the talks would take place with the military establishment or political parties.
Earlier this week, PTI leader lawyer Gohar Ali Khan had alleged that Khan was being pressured to accept a “deal”.
Rejecting speculations about secret talks with the establishment, lawyer Gohar had made it clear that the party was neither interested nor interested in holding talks with anyone.
Since being removed from power in a vote of no confidence in April 2022, former cricketer and politician Khan has been convicted in at least four cases. Khan has been lodged in the high-security Adiala prison in Rawalpindi after conviction in several cases.
Since the fallout with the powerful military, Khan’s party has faced a crackdown. The party has faced pressure in the form of arrests and desertions in the wake of the May 9 violence that erupted after Khan’s arrest last year. (PTI)