In a major political thaw in Pakistan, two senior leaders of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party met army chief General Asim Munir, while separately the party negotiators formally presented their demands to the government to tackle the prevailing political tensions.
Khan, the 72-year-old founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), told media from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail that his party leaders met the army chief.
Khan mentioned that his party had long been trying to get to the other side on the negotiation table
Elaborating on the meeting, PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan remarked: “What Imran Khan has said about my meeting with the chief of army staff (COAS) is correct.”
The channel also reported that Gohar Khan said that he and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur separately met General Munir in Peshawar during this week.
Explaining what had transpired during their rare talks with the COAS, the PTI chairman said that all that matters is that the demands of the party were presented directly to General Munir.
He termed direct negotiations with the establishment as a positive step towards resolving the ongoing issues.
Barrister Gohar further said: “I and Ali Amin Gandapur held a meeting with COAS Munir, during which we outlined all of PTI’s concerns and priorities.”
Geo News also reported Gohar was transported to Peshawar via a helicopter to meet the military chief.
The meeting reportedly occurred during General Munir’s visit to Peshawar, where he met top provincial political leaders and emphasised: “If there is a state, there is politics. God forbid, without a state, there is nothing.”
The maiden meeting is a major political development after last year’s general election because the PTI had blamed the establishment of rigging, which had pitched it against the army.
Separately, the PTI finally presented its political demands to the government as the leaders from the two sides met for the third round of talks.
Talks between the government and the PTI commenced on December 23 and the second round was held on January 2 while the third round was delayed but finally held at the Parliament House.
National Assembly (NA) Speaker Ayaz Sadiq facilitated the talks which were attended by six PTI leaders and eight government representatives.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, PTI leader Asad Qaiser, Sunni Ittehad Council chief Hamid Raza, Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen chief Senator Raja Nasir Abbas Jafri and PTI secretary general Salman Akram Raja attended from the opposition.
Those representing the government included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui, Pakistan Peoples Party leaders Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Naveed Qamar, prime minister’s political aide Rana Sanaullah, and leaders from other government allied parties.
The PTI formally presented its charter of demands in written form, a three-page document signed by the six opposition members.
The opposition put forward two main demands, including the formation of two judicial commissions to probe the May 9, 2023 and November 26, 2024 protests, and “support” of the federal and provincial governments in bail, sentence suspensions, and acquittals of “political prisoners” identified by the PTI.
The opposition demanded two Commissions of Inquiry comprising the chief justice or three serving Supreme Court judges, mutually nominated by the PTI and the government within seven days.
The party asked the commission on May 9 to probe the “circumstances in which groups of individuals were able to reach various high security locations at which damage to property is said to have been caused”.
It sought an “examination of the CCTV recordings at each location where damage is said to have been caused by protesters”.
The PTI also said that the government should show its seriousness by setting up the commissions within seven days.
The open and behind the curtain talks between the PTI and government on the one hand and the PTI and the powerful establishment on the other hand showed that the parties are seriously trying to address the political tension in the country.
