Islamabad (Web Desk): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that the government is ready for any dialogue with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) must be based on legitimate demands, warning that attempts to pressure the government under the pretense of negotiations would not succeed.
Addressing the federal cabinet meeting in Islamabad, the prime minister noted that PTI founder Imran Khan and his associates were also discussing about talks.
He recalled that he had previously invited PTI leaders to engage in dialogue, including a formal invitation extended on the floor of the National Assembly.
PM Shehbaz made it clear that only genuine demands could form the basis of discussions, and any effort to use negotiations as leverage would be unacceptable.
His statement came shortly after Imran Khan, who is currently in jail, rejected a call for dialogue by opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai. Khan, through a post on his X account, instructed Sohail Afridi to prepare for street protests, urging the nation to rise for their rights.
Commenting on the matter, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram explained that the party would follow Imran Khan’s directive, as the decision to launch a protest movement came directly from him.
While Achakzai was free to pursue his own initiatives, including dialogue, PTI leaders are expected to adhere to the party chief’s latest instructions. Akram added that Khan had directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister to organize a movement aimed at defending the rule of law and upholding the Constitution.
Earlier, a government insider had indicated that meaningful talks with PTI were unlikely unless the party expressed regret or apologized for the events of May 9 and the anti-army campaigns promoted on social media by its supporters.
At a national conference of the opposition alliance on Saturday, Achakzai described the Constitution as being in tatters and appealed to former premier Nawaz Sharif and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to step forward and lead dialogue efforts to steer the country out of its current political crisis.