Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has dismissed statements by the Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR), reiterating that negotiations with the Taliban were a strategy devised by former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa.
This was conveyed by lawyer Faisal Chaudhry, who briefed the media outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail on Tuesday. A six-member legal team had earlier met the former prime minister.
He said, “Imran Khan’s stance is clear-cases against him and PTI leaders are politically motivated and lack substance. These trials are a means of political targeting, not justice.”
He further noted that Khan reiterated his call for a judicial commission to investigate the May 9 incidents and the November 26 protests. “Our leader seeks justice, not leniency, and has set a deadline of January 31 to assess the government’s seriousness in dialogue,” he added.
Referring to the Taliban negotiations, Chaudhry quoted Khan as saying, “The ISPR’s position is incorrect. General Bajwa crafted the strategy regarding the establishment’s dealings with the Taliban. Afghanistan’s issues can only be resolved through dialogue, which remains a practical solution.”
Khan also criticised simultaneous diplomatic efforts and aerial bombardments, calling for a consistent approach. He criticised trials in military courts, describing the sentences as controversial. “These trials lack transparency and justice. The constitution must be upheld, and human rights protected,” he said.
The PTI team intends to participate in talks on January 2 and remains committed to addressing issues such as electoral mandates and constitutional amendments. “The nation suffers economically due to political unrest and mismanagement,” Chaudhry concluded.
On Monday, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq formally convened an in-camera meeting of committees representing the government and the embattled PTI on January 2, 2025.
According to a statement issued by the NA speaker, the crucial meeting between the ruling alliance and Imran Khan-founded party will be held at parliament house on Thursday. The key huddle will begin at 11am, it added. The upcoming meeting is a continuation of the December 23 huddle. The PTI will present its demands in writing before the government’s negotiation committee at the Jan 2 meeting as the first round of parleys ended in a conducive environment.
The PTI’s team, following a thorough consultation with the party leadership, has decided to present just two demands before the government in the upcoming meeting, said well-placed sources. The former ruling party’s demands include formation of a judicial commission to probe May 9, 2023 violent incidents and November 26 crackdown on PTI workers in Islamabad, and release all political prisoners, the sources added.