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Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Friday said that the federal government does not take the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)'s January 31 deadline for result-orientated talks seriously, Geo News reported.
Tarar further described the PT as a "face-saving" move from PTI. Earlier, the PTI negotiation committee, after meeting its party founder Imran Khan in Adiala Jail, set the deadline for the government and reiterated its demands for a judicial probe into the May 9 riots last year, the late-night crackdown on November 26, and the release of "political prisoners," Geo News reported. Sahibzada Hamid Raza, the chief of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) and a member of the PTI's dialogue team, told journalists that Imran Khan was willing to forgive those responsible for his mistreatment for the sake of Pakistan. Raza also stated that the first phase of PTI's civil disobedience movement, the "boycott of remittances," would continue despite the ongoing talks. Tarar claimed that PTI's ultimatum was a result of the party's series of political setbacks and suggested that PTI's call for overseas Pakistanis to stop sending remittances would meet the same fate as its previous protests, such as the "final call" demonstration in Islamabad last month, Geo News reported. He added that the former ruling party had faced repeated failures, including in the 26th Constitutional Amendment and the "do-or-die" protest. Responding to another question, Tarar firmly denied any reports suggesting that the jailed PTI leader Imran Khan had been offered a deal to either be placed under house arrest or moved to a prison in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where his party holds power. According to Geo News, Tarar's comments came amid the ongoing negotiations between the government and opposition parties, which began earlier this week at the Parliament House after months of political tension. (ANI)
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