Prime Minister's Adviser on Political and Public Affairs Senator Rana Sanaullah said on Friday that prospects for talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) now seem untenable, arguing that Imran Khan's latest remarks have further complicated the political landscape.
In a statement, he said: "The prime minister had offered talks to PTI on the floor of the House. I cannot withdraw that offer, nor has the premier withdrawn it."
Sanaullah said the environment had shifted significantly following the PTI founder's recent tweet, which, according to him, had deepened tensions.
"After the situation created by the founder's tweet, it seems matters have become more complicated," he remarked. He added that the PTI founder had "taken the situation towards further deterioration".
PM Shehbaz has time and again invited the Imran Khan-founded party to resume its reconciliatory talks, with the most recent one being during Pakistan-India's four-day armed conflict.
The dialogue between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government and the PTI commenced in late December last year after months of heightened political tensions.
Despite the two sides holding three rounds of negotiations on December 27, 2024, January 2, 2025, and January 16, the dialogue process hit a snag after the PTI refused to continue with the talks, first saying that they had been called off by its incarcerated founder, Imran Khan and then later backtracking and noting that they had only been put on hold.
With the PTI skipping the fourth session, the PM had offered to form a parliamentary committee to advance the talks. The offer, however, was turned down by the PTI.
Earlier today, Sanaullah said that the government's offer of political dialogue to the PTI remains intact.
Speaking on the Senate floor in response to a point of public interest raised by opposition Senator Mishal Azam, he noted that PM Shehbaz Sharif's invitation for talks "still stands today," adding that political issues could only be resolved through engagement.
During today's Senate session, Sanaullah urged the Khan-founded party’s leadership to return to the negotiating table, stressing that "democracy moves forward through dialogue, not deadlock."
He lamented that the PTI leadership "is not willing to speak to us," while those they are willing to talk to "do not wish to talk to them."
Reacting to the former ruling party's demand for allowing meetings with incarcerated Khan, the PM's aide noted that during the Senate sitting, multiple voices called for a committee to examine the matter.
"There was a demand to form a committee, with members from both sides," he said, adding that senators had urged the upper house to look into the issue of the meetings between the PTI leaders and ex-PM Khan.
His statement was followed by his today's speech in the upper house in which he said that any meetings with under-trial prisoners must follow legal and prison rules. "Such meetings cannot be allowed if they risk disturbing public order or creating unrest," he added.
The PTI founder has been in jail since August 2023, following his removal from office through a no-confidence vote in April 2022. He faces a plethora of cases ranging from corruption to terrorism.
Separately, State Minister for Interior Senator Talal Chaudhry said: "20 to 25 years ago, many had already said he [Imran] was a planted person," claiming that the PTI founder had attempted to make every state institution controversial.
He added that the actions taken by PTI were "against the country" and that the party "does not fall under the category of a political party."
Chaudhry said the government would "definitely reflect" on the points raised by the military's spokesperson in his latest briefing, and recalled that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan had also distanced itself from its own founder, Altaf Hussain.
He further claimed that terrorists had targeted all political parties except PTI, suggesting that "there must be some connection between the banned TTP and PTI."
He went on to say that the PTI founder was displaying conduct "similar to the MQM founder," adding that "he has never spoken a single word against Israel to this day."
