ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Wednesday called for unconditional talks with the government after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered dialogue to the party on the condition that it end its ongoing long march towards Islamabad.
Speaking to the media at Parliament House, Barrister Gohar said negotiations should resume, stressing that talks would have to take place even if the PTI’s long march reached Islamabad.
“Negotiations should not be cut off, and there should be no break in the dialogue,” the PTI chairman said.
Asked whether the long march would reach Islamabad, Barrister Gohar said there was no reason why it would not.
“Why wouldn’t the long march come to Islamabad? Islamabad is ours, and that is why the long march is being held,” he said.
He said the march would travel from Peshawar to Khyber and from Khyber to Pir Wadhai, Rawalpindi.
“People will come from every corner of Pakistan, including Jamrud, to join the long march,” he said.
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Asked when he would join the march, Barrister Gohar said he might leave for the container tomorrow or travel to Peshawar to meet the chief minister.
He added that he would join the march from wherever the party directed him.
Gohar also said he would meet Awami National Party (ANP) leader Aimal Wali Khan and invite him to participate in an All Parties Conference (APC).
Gohar warns against unconstitutional measures in KP
Commenting on the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI chairman described the provincial situation as “very serious” and said the province could not afford any unconstitutional or illegal measures.
He called for dialogue and urged that neither Governor’s Rule nor an emergency should be imposed, saying matters should be handled through proper constitutional and legal channels.
PTI seeks unconditional dialogue
Barrister Gohar said Prime Minister Shehbaz had made a conditional offer of talks, while the PTI had already formed its negotiating committee before the government’s offer.
“Do not impose conditions that this must happen first or that must happen first,” he said.
He stressed that dialogue should continue until a solution was reached.
“Negotiations should be unconditional. This is not a schoolchildren’s examination for which a deadline can simply be set,” he said.
Barrister Gohar said the long march was expected to reach Islamabad by October 11 or 12, adding that the party still had considerable time for negotiations.
