Sana asks PTI to contact govt for talks

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah Khan Tuesday said that if the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had constituted a negotiating team then it should convey a formal message to the government, adding that the system could not continue unless there are talks.

Speaking on floor of the National Assembly, he said: “If PTI is serious then it should send a message to the government that it had constituted a committee and they want talks. We shall request the Speaker to talk to the prime minister.”

Rana Sana said that the matter to start talks could be taken forward while sitting with the Speaker. “We were also talking about talks when he [Imran Khan] was threatening that he will not spare anyone,” he recalled.

He said that the Speaker’s office was a neutral forum for talks, adding that incumbent Speaker Ayaz Sadiq had also maintained his neutrality.

Taking the floor, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif again denied any formal or substantive beginning of talks between the government and PTI, saying that it was PTI leadership to take an initiative and create an atmosphere in this regard as there could be no negotiations on gunpoint or giving calls for civil disobedience.

Sher Afzal Marwat, earlier speaking on a point of order, sought an official view of the government on a negotiating team constituted by the PTI founder for talks with the government.

Marwat asked Rana Sana to give his government’s view on talks with the PTI’s negotiating team, while using forum of the House. “I will request Rana Sanaullah whether he will like to tell if they can come out of ego; a House committee is constituted also having members from JUIF, MQM and PPP; decide ToRs for talks using forum of Parliament and also talk to the establishment,” he said.

Khawaja Asif in response appreciated Marwat saying that many issues could be resolved if such voices are heard in the House.

Responding to complaints about insufficient facilities for the PTI founder in prison, he said such talks compromised dignity of a political worker. “I also spent 12 days in prions in 6 degree centigrade without blanket but made on complains,” he said, adding that they gave sacrifices for the sake of political ideology.

PMLN’s Hanif Abbasi cautioned the PTI and former NA Speaker Asad Qaiser against exploiting the ‘Pashtoon Card’ to disrupt national peace.

Speaking on a point of order, Abbasi asked the PTI leaders to refrain from using the Pakhtun card saying that Pakistan’s enemies have historically sought to destabilise the country by inciting ethnic and provincial divides. He urged the PTI to avoid using such tactics for political power.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said underscored that PMLN’s politics focused on constructive engagement, unlike PTI’s confrontational approach.

Recalling the 2013 elections when the PTI founder fell off a container, he said PMLN halted the election campaign, and senior leadership Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif and Rana Sanullah along with other leaders visited Shaukat Khanum Hospital to inquire about his health as a goodwill gesture.

He said that after PTI’s failed protests in Islamabad, its leadership resorted to lies and propaganda.

PTI’s Ali Muhammad Khan said that he had personally visited the homes of those ‘martyred’ at D-Chowk, belonging to Abbottabad. He also invited Attaullah Tarar to accompany him and meet the families of all those martyred during the November 26 protests, whether from the PTI or Rangers.