Pakistan won’t accept Trump admin pressure to release Imran: Sana

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Tuesday the government “would not accept any pressure” from the new US administration led by President-elect Donald Trump to negotiate with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) or release its party founder Imran Khan.

When questioned about potential pressure from the Trump administration in view of its loyalist Richard Grenell’s tweet demanding Imran’s release, Sanaullah replied: “We would not work under pressure of Donald Trump [...] if any intervention is made then we would consider it as interference in our sovereignty.” The premier’s aide, who is also one of the members of the government’s negotiation committee, further said that they did not commence dialogue with the major opposition party due to Trump. He stressed that negotiations should be held bilaterally between the treasury and the opposition. He also said that Pakistan had witnessed ups and downs in its bilateral ties with the US, however, Islamabad would not accept anything against its national interests.

To another question, the ruling PMLN leader replied that the federal government would not create obstacles if the Imran Khan-founded party seeks “conclusive and time-bound” talks. He, however, said that it won’t be possible if both sides agreed on all demands during the talks, adding that the government was not in haste to summon meetings immediately.

He was pointing towards the recent statement of the embattled PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan in which he sought government’s “timeframe” in connection with progress on their demands after the latter met Imran at Adiala Jail today.