ISLAMABAD: Amid rising political temperature in the country in the backdrop of PTI’s protests, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, head of the opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), on Tuesday called for a national dialogue among all political forces to steer the country out of crisis.
Talking to the media, Achakzai urged all political parties to sit at the dialogue table for the “sake of the country”, saying: “The solution to all the problems still lies in dialogue.”
The seasoned politician said that everyone should apologise for the wrongs they committed in the past.
Responding to a question, the opposition leader said: “What harm is there if the PTI founder Imran Khan’s sisters meet him in Adiala Jail?”
Recently, Khan’s sisters have criticised the jail authorities for not allowing them to meet their brother despite the court’s order.
The PTI founder has been behind bars in multiple cases, ranging from corruption to terrorism, since his ouster from power via the opposition’s no-trust motion in April 2022.
Achakzai, in his media talk today, further said that PTI lawmakers should stage a protest in the assemblies until a meeting is arranged between Khan and his sisters. “There should be no politics of revenge under any circumstances,” he warned.
His remarks came as PTI, marking the second anniversary of its founder Khan’s incarceration, kicked off its protest movement with workers and activists taking to the streets in different parts of the country to demand the former prime minister’s release.
PTI sources claimed that at least 300 of its activists were detained by police in Lahore during overnight raids. At least seven members of the Punjab Assembly were also arrested in Lahore, AFP reported, quoting Zulfikar Bukhari.
The police, however, released the PTI lawmakers in the evening.
In a statement, the Punjab Police said that Deputy Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Moeen Riaz Qureshi, MPs Farrukh Javed Moon, Khawaja Salahuddin, Shoaib Amir, Amanullah Khan, and Iqbal Khattak had been released.
Rehana Dar, who was among those detained from outside Aiwan-e-Adal, was also released, the PTI central media cell confirmed.
The former PM, in a message posted on the party’s X account, urged supporters to “come out and hold peaceful protests until a true democracy is restored in the country.”
The former cricket star was elected prime minister in 2018 but was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in parliament.
‘Meaningful Dialogue’
In June this year, PTI senior leader Senator Shibli Faraz urged the PML-N-led coalition government in the Centre to move beyond statements and engage in meaningful dialogue to ease political tensions in the country.
His remarks came in response to the government’s renewed offer of dialogue to the former ruling party. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah had said that the government remained open and willing to hold dialogue on all political matters with the opposition.
Speaking to journalists on June 26 after meeting opposition members, Sanaullah stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had extended a clear and open invitation to the opposition from the floor of the House, expressing readiness for dialogue.
“The PM even offered to meet in the Speaker’s chamber if the opposition wasn’t comfortable meeting him directly,” he added. The PML-N leader was of the view that democracy moves forward through dialogue.
Reacting to the olive branch extended by the PM, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate said: “If the government is serious, it must go beyond statements and engage in sincere dialogue.”
Dialogue should not be used to create a “false” sense of normalcy, he added.
“The government should engage directly with the PTI chairman and the secretary general,” Faraz said, adding that dialogue cannot happen if the government limits the process to political statements.
He further said that talks should not be held merely for political optics. “There must be sincerity in the negotiations, and it should be visibly clear that the government is serious,” the PTI leader added.
It is pertinent to mention here that the premier has publicly and repeatedly invited PTI for dialogue in efforts to reduce political tensions and promote democratic consensus.
Most recently, during the escalation of hostilities with India, Shehbaz reached out to Barrister Gohar to take him and the PTI into confidence alongside other national leaders.
