- If talks were underway, Bilawal would have issued a statement: Kundi
- Adds PTI cannot be trusted, it ‘sabotaged’ dialogue processes in past.
- PTI resorted to May 9 incidents despite prior dialogue efforts: governor.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has said that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has not yet been consulted regarding any potential dialogue between the federal government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Speaking to Geo News, Governor Kundi said that if such talks were underway, his party chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari would have issued a statement.
The governor made it clear that if talks take place in the future, the release of PTI’s founding chairman, Imran Khan, will not be on the agenda.
The remarks come amid the possibility of government-PTI talks, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif open to dialogue, while PTI has neither fully accepted nor completely ruled out the discussions.
“PTI founder will serve his sentence and will not receive any NRO,” Kundi added.
The governor, however, expressed serious doubts about PTI’s credibility, saying that the party cannot be trusted.
“PTI cannot be trusted; it has sabotaged the dialogue process in the past as well,” he added. Referring to past events, the KP governor said that during the previous 16-month government, efforts were made to bring PTI to the dialogue table, but it resorted to “May 9 sort of incidents.”
He reiterated that political issues should be resolved through political dialogue.
Kundi said that PTI had “damaged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the sake of one individual,” urging the party to focus on governance in the province.
He said that on the one hand, PTI’s leadership talks about negotiations, but on the other hand, the party’s founder posts “provocative messages” about marching on Islamabad.
“Who actually holds decision-making authority within PTI? Even party members lack trust in each other.”
It is worth noting that dialogue talks are gaining momentum again, after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated that discussions with PTI will only be possible on “legitimate” demands, and any attempts at blackmail under the guise of dialogue will not be tolerated.
Addressing the federal cabinet meeting on December 23, the prime minister said that PTI founder and his associates were also discussing holding talks. He said that he had previously invited PTI leaders for dialogue and had also extended the invitation on the National Assembly floor.
“Discussions could only be held on legitimate demands. Blackmailing will not work under the guise of negotiations, said the prime minister.
Separately, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on December 27 responded to claims made by the Prime Minister’s Coordinator Ikhtiar Wali Khan and said that there has been no contact with PM Shehbaz — regarding dialogue — in the past 10 days, or even throughout the year.
Barrister Gohar said that the critical issue of the negotiation process should not be treated casually.
“There has been no contact with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the last 10 days or the entire year. Although I have always been in favour of dialogue, this authority belongs only to Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas,” he added.
