Web Desk (MNN); Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced that it will not hold negotiations with the federal government, saying the decision was taken on the instructions of party founder Imran Khan
PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said the party’s stance was final and left no room for engagement with the government at this stage.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif once again invited the opposition for dialogue, stressing that talks could only be held on what he described as “legitimate matters.”
Later the same day, speaking on ARY News programme The 11th Hour, Sheikh Waqas Akram categorically stated that PTI was not interested in negotiations.
He said he had met PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, who conveyed Imran Khan’s clear directive that the party should not engage with the government in any form.
Akram added that Imran Khan had authorised Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) leaders Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas to decide independently whether they wished to respond to any government approach.
He said that while some alliance partners were in favour of talks, PTI had formally rejected the government’s offer in line with Imran Khan’s instructions.
Commenting on the possibility of a protest movement, Akram said that unless Imran Khan issued direct orders, Mahmood Khan Achakzai had the authority to announce protests, including strikes.
He noted that Achakzai had already called for a wheel-jam strike on February 8 and added that PTI would continue its own activities while also participating as part of the opposition alliance.
Akram said mobilisation efforts had been initiated, with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister tasked with launching a street movement.
On December 21, during the concluding session of a national conference organised by TTAP, participants agreed that dialogue should always remain an option in a democratic system. They stressed the need for a new Charter of Democracy in view of the prevailing national crisis.
On the same day, leaders from across the political spectrum, including senior figures of the ruling PML-N, called for restraint and dialogue, warning that political confrontation was fuelling instability and violence.
Talks between the PTI-led opposition and the government have remained a subject of debate since last year. Although both sides resumed dialogue in late December 2024 after a prolonged standoff, the process collapsed over key demands, including the formation of judicial commissions to investigate the May 9, 2023 and November 26, 2024 protests, and the release of PTI prisoners.
The Shehbaz government again extended an offer for talks in February this year, but PTI rejected it, with party leader Asad Qaiser questioning how dialogue was possible amid an intensified crackdown on the party.
