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\u2019s House or Office or the Speaker\u2019s Chamber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe prime minister is illegitimate. The mandate of millions of Pakistanis \u2026 Harsh words are rising to my lips; that is why I am silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI 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\u2019s House or the prime minister\u2019s chamber,\u201d he said while speaking to the media at Parliament House after a meeting of the opposition leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Achakzai\u2019s remarks were in response to a question about the prime minister\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019s planned Oct 4 protest march to demand Imran\u2019s release becoming the new bone of contention between the party and the Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019s rule or emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa \u2014 where Imran\u2019s party is in the government \u2014 in light of the security situation in the province and the PTI\u2019s protest call on Oct 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For its part, the opposition party has warned the government of dire consequences if such a decision is imposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PM Shehbaz had also extended an invitation to the NA opposition leader to sit together for consultations on the issues of national impor\u00adtance 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 commi\u00adssioner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opposition leaders\u2019 meeting
Achakzai and other opposition leaders held a meeting in the Senate opposition leader\u2019s chamber earlier in the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The consultations regarded the country\u2019s overall political situation, the long march, and constitutional and parliamentary affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opposition ready for dialogue but \u2018without conditions\u2019: 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\u2019s political crisis, saying his side was ready for talks, but without preconditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also stressed that the PTI\u2019s protest would be peaceful even when met with violence, and that \u201cno false narrative\u201d should be created against the protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have said before as well that when we leave from there, there will be no weapons in our hands,\u201d he said. \u201cWe know the value of human life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abbas called for a move towards reconciliation and dialogue in order to improve the country\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regarding the proposed protest, Abbas said the PTI had \u201cdecided to adopt a democratic approach by staging peaceful protests and a long march\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the government should have \u201cassured 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\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut, 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,\u201d he said, claiming that this was the behaviour of \u201cscared people\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The opposition leader also criticised the reported arrests of PTI members under the Maintenance of Public Order law, terming it a completely \u201cillegal practice\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Imran, Abbas said, \u201cThe only personality who can take Pakistan out of the current crisis is Imran Khan, whom the people trust.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe 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,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barrister Gohar warns against imposing state of emergency
Barrister Gohar, meanwhile, condemned the treatment of the party\u2019s leaders and members and warned that the federation would be put at risk if a state of emergency or governor\u2019s rule was imposed against the will of the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He condemned the \u201cstate oppression and tyranny\u201d inflicted on the PTI and its supporters, as well as the detention and treatment of Imran\u2019s sisters in jail. In addition, he strongly condemned arrest warrants being issued against assembly members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAn MNA is supposed to advocate for peace and security in his constituency; he never takes the law into his own hands \u2026 yet today they are in hiding,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chairman claimed that attempts were made to suppress the PTI \u201cwhenever we raise our voice for our rights and for justice in the country\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gohar also stressed that the party had \u201calways stood with the state and the country\u201d, including standing \u201cshoulder-to-shoulder\u201d with the state against \u201can enemy five times our size\u201d last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Imran and Bushra Bibi\u2019s incarceration, the PTI chairman said, \u201cWe 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\u2014why?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also criticised that when the PTI raised their voice against this treatment, their paths were blocked and ministers sat down to \u201ccraft a narrative that we are some \u2018gang\u2019, that we are \u2018misfits\u2019\u201d. He condemned the words used and added that the party would \u201cnot wish to repeat them even against you\u201d, calling them an insult to those who had voted for the party in tens of millions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe federation becomes strong when the provinces are strong and autonomous, and when the people\u2019s 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He recalled that during the PPP\u2019s tenure, they had themselves expressed reservations about the deployment of Rangers, saying that the province\u2019s will should also be included rather than only the federation\u2019s. The law was amended to reflect this, he added, and stressed that the party\u2019s position was also the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He reiterated Abbas\u2019 statement that the march would remain peaceful, saying, \u201cThis is our country; for us, Pakistan comes first, the State of Pakistan and its peace and security.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The PTI chairman stated that the way to avoid a long march was not by the imposition of governor\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe 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 \u2026 Even today, the same concerns persist,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gohar stressed that despite all this, the party was still ready for negotiations and had made their demands clear before everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Salman Akram Raja also stressed that protesting was a constitutional and legal right, and the party would not back down from their protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe leader of the long march is Sohail Afridi; Imran Khan has appointed him. We will support him in every possible way,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The leader also stressed that people would come out in support of the march from all over the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Off-the-record talks\u2019
In the morning, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said that the federal government and PTI were engaged in \u201coff-the-record talks\u201d regarding PTI\u2019s planned protest on Oct 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanaullah made the remarks while appearing in Geo News\u2019 morning show \u201cGeo Pakistan\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanaullah said that the decision on the proposed march rested with PTI\u2019s senior leadership, \u201cwith whom off-the-record consultation is ongoing\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo let us see, even if they do not postpone it, we have arrangements in place to stop them,\u201d Sanaullah warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He likened the PTI\u2019s march to a \u201cprovincial government attacking the capital\u201d in an apparent reference to the PTI-led government in KP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf a political party or a private organisation stages a protest, [\u2026] but for a government to attack [\u2026] it cannot be tolerated under any circumstances,\u201d he held.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe law will be enacted in full force, and they (PTI) will be barred from entering Islamabad,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responding to a question about governor\u2019s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sanaullah on Thursday said that the option was \u201con the table\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanaullah further clarified that the federal government was in talks with coalition parties about imposing governor\u2019s 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\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanaullah alleged that the KP chief minister had not been performing his functions as the province\u2019s chief executive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor the past two months, he has not done anything, nothing about development or counter-terrorism efforts or for the welfare of people [\u2026] in fact, all he has done is talk about marching to Islamabad and toppling the federal government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey want to take ladders to Islamabad to secure the release of a certain someone,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanaullah reiterated that if a province is \u201cengaged in such illegal and unconstitutional activities, then the Centre has the right to declare emergency or governor rule and assume power\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\u2019s House or Office or the Speaker\u2019s Chamber. \u201cThe prime minister is illegitimate. The mandate of millions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134122,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n