PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Saturday urged the need for continuing to pursue “comprehensive, unconditional” negotiations between the PTI and the federal government amid hesitation in the party.
PTI leaders had recently agreed to negotiate with the federal government if the offer was ‘serious’ but party founder Imran Khan had criticised the leadership on Thursday for acting like ‘all is well’ and reiterated his call for civil disobedience if the government continued to ignore his demands.
Senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser had subsequently clarified a day ago that the party had not yet initiated dialogue with the government and talks could be held only after the acceptance of three demands, including the release of Imran and other party activists and the constitution of a judicial commission comprising senior Supreme Court judges to probe violent May 9, 2023, and Nov 26, 2024, incidents.
However, speaking to reporters outside the Islamabad District and Sessions Court, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said he was “in favour of comprehensive, unconditional negotiations at every stage”.
He added: “It is essential for democracy to find political solutions to political issues. We will proceed in accordance with the law.”
When asked if the party’s demands were conditions for negotiations, he clarified, “We have not given any conditions, these are our demands. We will negotiate on these demands.”
“We did have contact with the government, but we were disconnected at a critical stage,” the chairman said in response to a question about prior attempts at talks.
“We are hopeful we will reestablish contact and improve the situation […] When there are negotiations, all issues will be resolved,” he told reporters.
“Enough is enough. Let us put a stop to everything and move towards improvement.”
Gohar files complaint against PM Shehbaz
However, a day ago Gohar had filed a petition with the Islamabad Judicial Magistrate against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, the Islamabad police chief and others over the alleged deaths of 12 PTI workers during the November 26 protests.
According to the petition, the respondents “formulated a plan to deal with peaceful protesters in order to sabotage the constitutional and fundamental rights”. Gohar accused Naqvi of declaring “his intentions that orders had been issued to law enforcement agencies to use lethal force against unarmed citizens” through statements made in the media.
The petition said that on Naqvi’s directives, the other respondents “held consultations and conspired to arrange a coordinated attack on the peaceful protesters”.
The petition accused the PM and the cabinet ministers named as respondents of ordering authorities to use lethal force to “teach a lesson” to the demonstrators on November 26. It listed the 12 PTI workers who were allegedly killed in the protest, as well as 38 workers who were wounded and 139 others reportedly missing.
“Their actions constitute not only a gross abuse of power but also criminal offences under the Pakistan Penal Code … and violations of international human rights standards,” the petition read. “This premeditated conspiracy of the accused to kill unarmed citizens represents a grave assault on the principles of democracy, the rule of law, and the sanctity of human life.”
Gohar pleaded that the respondents be summoned through non-bailable arrest warrants and punished and sentenced as per the law.
