PTI wants talks with real decision-makers: Hammad

ISLAMABAD: PTI leader and former minister Hammad Azhar has said that his party’s offer for negotiations was only extended to the real decision-makers and not the puppets (rulers) imposed on the nation. 

Azhar’s reaction followed after Prime Minister Mian Shehbaz Sharif categorically rejected talks with PTI leadership due its alleged involvement in arson and vandalism. In a statement issued here on Friday, Hammad Azhar said, “we do not want to waste time negotiating with these puppets, who do not have any vote bank. These puppets were imposed on people who had no vote bank and were hiding behind crutches”. He contended that the PTI offered negotiations only with the real decision-makers for the sake of restoration of the constitution and democracy.

Meanwhile, ex-finance and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Asad Umar blamed the government for the current economic mess and said that it should take steps to pull the country out of the economic quagmire instead of spending time on keeping the innocent jailed.

About the ‘backbreaking inflation’, Asad Umar said in a statement issued here that Pakistan has left Sri Lanka far behind in inflation, as Pakistan had the highest inflation rate in Asia. He added that Pakistan witnessed record-breaking inflation during the past 75 years. Asad, who had resigned recently from the party slots, including that of its secretary general, compared the inflation rate in Pakistan was 38percent, and in India, it was only 4.7 percent. He raised the question that where was the man who went out to end inflation by selling his clothes.

He emphasised that instead of ‘working hard’ to keep these innocent people detained, the government should spend its time on taking the people out of the extreme economic hardships. PTI leader said, “thanks to the tireless hard work of our lawyers, the release of thousands of workers was made possible. However, innocent people in huge numbers are still detained”. In another development, PTI senior leader Haleem Adil Sheikh has been appointed as PTI Sindh President with immediate effect. PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan issued the notification to this effect.

Omar Ayub said PTI has devised a mechanism for safe communication of organizational structures from the centre to the grassroots level. For this purpose, he issued special directives for the party workers.

“Elements and facilitators who wish to weaken PTI to achieve goals by spreading confusion through rumour-mongering and false messages will fail. Regarding organizational responsibilities, office-bearers should turn to notified responsibilities for internal communication of the movement,” he noted.