Staff Report
LAHORE: Ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Saturday criticised Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman, Imran Khan over his conditional offer for talks, stating that the threats will not yield a date for the next elections.
However, if Imran fixes his threatening tone and agrees to unconditional negotiations, then talks can be possible.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)
This was stated by Federal Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique as he addressed a joint press conference alongside Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah here on Saturday. Rafique said that as a party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has considered the talks offered by the PTI chairman on Friday, but clarified that conditions attached to talks will be a non-starter.
Sanaullah said that Imran’s threat to dissolve the assemblies is tantamount to ridiculing the mandate of the public. However, he conceded that the PTI And the government were engaged in informal talks through interlocutors.
He said a final decision on talks will be taken by the ruling coalition collectively. “We have had informal contacts with Imran Khan through interlocutors,” the PML-N leaders said and added the PTI was the one that initiated contacts but never owned them,” Rafique added.
On the talks proposed by Imran, the minister said we cannot have conditional talks. “They then become non-starters.” He added that at this moment in time, talks was the need of Imran Khan not the coalition government. On the dissolution of assemblies, Rafique said that it does not impacts them politically. “We will not create obstacles in his act of dissolving assemblies, but we will not be a part of this act,” he said, adding that dissolving assemblies was akin to ridiculing the public mandate.
“Make formal approach for talks, we will take the matter to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and take a consensus decision from all the other parties. He urged Imran to bring seriousness in his politics.
