Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) desire to hold dialogue with the government was misconstrued as its weakness, former ruling party’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter President Junaid Akbar said on Tuesday, warning of taking to streets against the incumbent rulers.
His remarks came hours after the former ruling party skipped today’s fourth round of talks with the coalition government. While the ruling alliance says that the ongoing negotiation process with the PTI has “practically” ended since the PTI skipped the crucial meeting.
The PTI and the PML-N-led coalition government entered the negotiation in December last year to defuse political temperature in the country.
After weeks of negotiation, the dialogue process hit a snag as the Khan-founded party called off the dialogue with the ruling coalition for not forming the judicial commissions to probe the May 9, 2023 violent protests and a crackdown on party protesters in Islamabad on November 26 last year.
Speaking on Geo News programme “Capital Talk” today, Akbar, who was recently elected Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman unopposed, said although they were trying to make the negotiation with the government successful, he did not see it happening.
He hinted at rising political heat in the country as the former ruling party was once again shifting to the “agitation mode”.
When asked if his new position in PTI suggests that there would be no negotiations with the government and the matters would be solved on the streets, Akbar replied, “Yes, definitely.”
He revealed that the “homoeopathic leadership” of the Imran Khan-founded party would be sidelined after the reorganisation of the former ruling party, slated to be held in May this year.
Hinting at a large-scale reshuffle in the party’s hierarchy, the PTI leader said that “hardliners” would be appointed to key positions in the Khan-founded party.
He further said that they would bring changes in the provincial cabinet, adding that two new members would be inducted in Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur-led cabinet.
Shedding light on the party's future plans, the PTI leader said that they had multiple options, including staging protests at the district level on February 8 against alleged rigging in the last year's general election and a demonstration at Islamabad’s D-Chowk.
The PTI leader said that they would not engage with anyone when they take to the streets this time.
Responding to a question related to alleged political victimisation and "conspiracies" being hatched by the federal government, he said that attempts were being made to create a forward block in the former ruling party.
“We also know that who is in contact with whom,” he added.
The PTI leader said: “They [the government] failed to change the loyalties of PTI’s supporters.” He further said that those who quit the party, had joined the PTI on the directives of “someone else”.
To another query, he said that the PTI founder would be released during the current year.
The 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been behind bars since August last year after he was sentenced in Toshakhana case-I — one of the dozens of cases registered against the former premier since his ouster from power in April 2022.
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