Barrister Gohar says PTI not talking with govt at the moment

PESHAWAR: PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Wednesday said that his party was not holding talks with the government at the moment and that matters had not progressed beyond the offer of negotiations.

Talking to reporters on the premises of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), Gohar said, “It is now the responsibility of those who hold authority to respond to PTI’s offer.”

He added that the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, had shown magnanimity by shaking hands with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and offering talks with the government.

“If anyone takes this offer as our weakness, they are mistaken,” he said.

The PTI chairman said that the party would decide on the upcoming elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) within the next two days, adding that it had not made any decision to boycott the polls.

He added that a notification circulating on social media regarding the PTI’s boycott of the elections was “fake”.

Regarding differences within the party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said that the PTI had no intention of replacing Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, adding that he was “not going anywhere”.

“No one in the assembly can replace Sohail Afridi,” Gohar added.

The PTI chairman added that the party leadership had called the disgruntled MPAs for a meeting in the coming days and was closely monitoring the situation in the province.

“Give reconciliation a chance,” he said, adding that if the people of AJK were protesting over their grievances, that protest should remain peaceful.

Referring to a recent decision by AJK Supreme Court, the PTI chairman lamented that the party’s election symbol was taken away without any justification.

“Losing our election symbol in Haripur, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir created many problems for us,” he added.

Gohar stressed the need to hold negotiations to resolve all outstanding issues amicably.

“Political issues should have political solutions”, he said. “Finding solutions to problems is the duty of every government and public office holder.”

The party chairman also expressed serious reservations over the lack of facilities for the incarcerated PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan, as well as the denial of meetings with family members and party leaders.

He said that the process of meetings with Imran should be restored immediately and demanded that the PTI founder be provided medical facilities in a hospital of his family’s choice.

Commenting on KP’s annual budget, Gohar said the provincial government presented an excellent budget.

“We (PTI) did not want to give a deficit budget; they had no option, as the federal government is not giving the province its due NFC share,” he said.

The party chairman also rejected the federal government’s move to impose taxes in the erstwhile Fata districts.

“The government should review its decision because these areas are affected by natural disasters and floods,” he said, adding that the people of these areas need relief.

Denying internal differences in the party, the PTI chairman said the party was “intact”, and that although some lawmakers had reservations on certain matters, everyone agreed with the PTI founder’s decisions.

Gohar further said that former KP chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur was an asset to the party.

Earlier this month, the government offered an olive branch to the opposition after Achakzai threatened to boycott National Assembly proceedings.

“I invited you on behalf of the government to come and sit together with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to consult on national issues,” Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said on the House floor, responding to allegations by the opposition that the government had failed to perform.

Referring to the opposition’s demand to allow Imran to meet other party leaders, the law minister said the Constitution did not allow a convict to run a political party, distribute tickets for legislative assemblies, or actively participate in politics.

However, sparks flew during a House session to pass the federal budget, where the opposition leader assailed the government and NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.

The opposition leader began his speech by criticising Sadiq. “We will have to change our tone now that your government has completed 2.5 years,” he said, criticising Sadiq for his conduct as the speaker.

“You did not care about the Constitution and law as you dismissed 14 of your colleagues from the Assembly,” Achakzai said, seemingly referring to PTI’s disqualified members.

The NA opposition leader further slammed the government for its response to the recent unrest in AJK, and took aim at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over an earlier speech by him.

“I did not enjoy the way Shehbaz bhai spoke. He told me that we are here because Pakistan is still here, and I think he was absolutely correct in saying that,” Achakzai said. He, however, added: “But, Pakistan is not some imaginary country that exists in the skies. It means Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Sindh, and Punjab. Why don’t you see KP as part of Pakistan?”

The opposition leader accused the government of “clipping the wings” of the judiciary and “trampling the Constitution”. ...