ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Mehmood Khan Achakzai did not explicitly rule out talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday but said he was not ready to hold parleys at the Prime Minister’s House or Office or the Speaker’s Chamber.
“The prime minister is illegitimate. The mandate of millions of Pakistanis … Harsh words are rising to my lips; that is why I am silent.
“I am ready to sit anywhere in Pakistan, under any tree. I am ready to visit the house of any party [leader]. But I will not go to the speaker house [sic], the Prime Minister’s House or the prime minister’s chamber,” he said while speaking to the media at Parliament House after a meeting of the opposition leaders.
Achakzai’s remarks were in response to a question about the prime minister’s adviser, Rana Sanaullah, inviting him and PTI Chairperson Barrister Gohar to hold a sitting with the premier. The reporter asked him why the meeting was not taking place.
In a video clip shared by the opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahaffuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), Achakzai also said the meeting with the prime minister would take place after a meeting with jailed former premier and PTI founder Imran Khan.
The possibility of a meeting between the prime minister and Achakzai is being seen as a means to defuse the current political crisis in the country, with the PTI’s planned Oct 4 protest march to demand Imran’s release becoming the new bone of contention between the party and the Centre.
The TTAP, which is headed by Achakzai and also includes the PTI, has announced that it would join the protest. And as the PTI remains resolute to go ahead with the march, federal ministers have warned that the Centre would have no other option but to impose the governor’s rule or emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — where Imran’s party is in the government — in light of the security situation in the province and the PTI’s protest call on Oct 4.
For its part, the opposition party has warned the government of dire consequences if such a decision is imposed.
PM Shehbaz had also extended an invitation to the NA opposition leader to sit together for consultations on the issues of national importance and those related to the PTI before leaving for the US. Earlier, the premier also invited Achakzai on Sept 11 for mandatory consultation on the appointment of a new chief election commissioner.
Opposition leaders’ meeting
Achakzai and other opposition leaders held a meeting in the Senate opposition leader’s chamber earlier in the day.
The meeting was also attended by Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Barrister Gohar, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, former NA speaker Asad Qaiser, NA Chief Whip Aamer Mahmood Kamboh, TTAP spokesperson Akhundzada Hussain Ahmad Yusufzai, and other opposition leaders.
The consultations regarded the country’s overall political situation, the long march, and constitutional and parliamentary affairs.
Opposition ready for dialogue but ‘without conditions’: Senate opposition leader
Speaking to the media alongside Achakzai after the meeting, Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas called for reconciliation and dialogue to resolve the country’s political crisis, saying his side was ready for talks, but without preconditions.
He also stressed that the PTI’s protest would be peaceful even when met with violence, and that “no false narrative” should be created against the protest.
“I have said before as well that when we leave from there, there will be no weapons in our hands,” he said. “We know the value of human life.”
Abbas called for a move towards reconciliation and dialogue in order to improve the country’s situation.
“We are fully prepared to hold dialogue and correct the situation, but this will be without any conditions. If anyone thinks that they will hold a dagger of conditions at our necks, then, such a thing will never be accepted,” he said.
Regarding the proposed protest, Abbas said the PTI had “decided to adopt a democratic approach by staging peaceful protests and a long march”.
He said the government should have “assured the protesters of the protection of their lives and property, provided them with facilities, and, while recognising the right to peaceful protest, designated the routes”.
“But, on the contrary, what did the government do? Even before the protests began, containers were placed to seal Islamabad, roads were dug up and nails were hammered into the routes,” he said, claiming that this was the behaviour of “scared people”.
Stressing that the Constitution guaranteed the rights of the Pakistani people, Abbas said peaceful protests, sit-ins and long marches were part of democratic politics.
The opposition leader also criticised the reported arrests of PTI members under the Maintenance of Public Order law, terming it a completely “illegal practice”.
On Imran, Abbas said, “The only personality who can take Pakistan out of the current crisis is Imran Khan, whom the people trust.”
“He will go to Balochistan, where Akhtar Mengal and other leaders will be with him. He will sit with the people and talk to them and convince them. What you cannot do through the force of bullets can be done through dialogue because the people trust him,” he added.
Barrister Gohar warns against imposing state of emergency
Barrister Gohar, meanwhile, condemned the treatment of the party’s leaders and members and warned that the federation would be put at risk if a state of emergency or governor’s rule was imposed against the will of the people.
Speaking to the media, he said that he, Raja, Qaiser, and Dogar had held a three-hour meeting with Abbas and Achakzai in which they had a detailed exchange of views on the problems facing the country and the current situation, particularly in KP and regarding the march preparations.
He condemned the “state oppression and tyranny” inflicted on the PTI and its supporters, as well as the detention and treatment of Imran’s sisters in jail. In addition, he strongly condemned arrest warrants being issued against assembly members.
“An MNA is supposed to advocate for peace and security in his constituency; he never takes the law into his own hands … yet today they are in hiding,” he said.
The chairman claimed that attempts were made to suppress the PTI “whenever we raise our voice for our rights and for justice in the country”.
Gohar also stressed that the party had “always stood with the state and the country”, including standing “shoulder-to-shoulder” with the state against “an enemy five times our size” last year.
On Imran and Bushra Bibi’s incarceration, the PTI chairman said, “We consider every single day they spend in jail to be unjust and tyrannical. We knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court and the High Court to seek justice, but our voice was suppressed, and we were not heard. And now, when we go to the people to demand our rights, we are told that if we move forward, we will be treated like terrorists—why?”
He also criticised that when the PTI raised their voice against this treatment, their paths were blocked and ministers sat down to “craft a narrative that we are some ‘gang’, that we are ‘misfits’”. He condemned the words used and added that the party would “not wish to repeat them even against you”, calling them an insult to those who had voted for the party in tens of millions.
Gohar added that the leaders had also considered the news regarding the potential imposition of a state of emergency, and to this issued a warning.
“The federation becomes strong when the provinces are strong and autonomous, and when the people’s mandate is respected. You will put the federation at risk if you take any action in a province that goes against the will of its people,” he said.
He recalled that during the PPP’s tenure, they had themselves expressed reservations about the deployment of Rangers, saying that the province’s will should also be included rather than only the federation’s. The law was amended to reflect this, he added, and stressed that the party’s position was also the same.
He reiterated Abbas’ statement that the march would remain peaceful, saying, “This is our country; for us, Pakistan comes first, the State of Pakistan and its peace and security.”
The PTI chairman stated that the way to avoid a long march was not by the imposition of governor’s rule or a state of emergency, but rather by talking to protesters, listening to the purpose for which they were out on the streets, and addressing their concerns.
“We went to the Supreme Court 19 times, but were not heard. We went to the High Court 25 times but the orders were not implemented. A special committee was formed in Parliament, but a meeting was never called … Even today, the same concerns persist,” he said.
Gohar stressed that despite all this, the party was still ready for negotiations and had made their demands clear before everyone.
Salman Akram Raja also stressed that protesting was a constitutional and legal right, and the party would not back down from their protest.
“The leader of the long march is Sohail Afridi; Imran Khan has appointed him. We will support him in every possible way,” he added.
The leader also stressed that people would come out in support of the march from all over the country.
‘Off-the-record talks’
In the morning, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said that the federal government and PTI were engaged in “off-the-record talks” regarding PTI’s planned protest on Oct 4.
Sanaullah made the remarks while appearing in Geo News’ morning show “Geo Pakistan”.
Sanaullah said that the decision on the proposed march rested with PTI’s senior leadership, “with whom off-the-record consultation is ongoing”.
“So let us see, even if they do not postpone it, we have arrangements in place to stop them,” Sanaullah warned.
He likened the PTI’s march to a “provincial government attacking the capital” in an apparent reference to the PTI-led government in KP.
“If a political party or a private organisation stages a protest, […] but for a government to attack […] it cannot be tolerated under any circumstances,” he held.
“The law will be enacted in full force, and they (PTI) will be barred from entering Islamabad,” he added.
Responding to a question about governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sanaullah on Thursday said that the option was “on the table”.
Sanaullah further clarified that the federal government was in talks with coalition parties about imposing governor’s rule in KP. He added that the final decision rested upon the federal government and the Senate, adding that it would only come into effect with parliament’s approval.
Sanaullah alleged that the KP chief minister had not been performing his functions as the province’s chief executive.
“For the past two months, he has not done anything, nothing about development or counter-terrorism efforts or for the welfare of people […] in fact, all he has done is talk about marching to Islamabad and toppling the federal government.
“They want to take ladders to Islamabad to secure the release of a certain someone,” he added.
Sanaullah reiterated that if a province is “engaged in such illegal and unconstitutional activities, then the Centre has the right to declare emergency or governor rule and assume power”.
