Rana Sanaullah, Pakistan’s Interior Minister, declared that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) proposal for “serious negotiation” could only be addressed with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He made this statement via a tweet in response to PTI’s intent for dialogue following the events of May 9.
Contrary to his earlier stance of refusing dialogue with the current leaders, whom he labeled “thieves,” PTI Chairman Imran Khan is now open to negotiating with the government. As part of this move, he has formed a seven-member committee, which includes PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, ex-defense minister Pervez Khattak, former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser, PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh, and past ministers Murad Saeed, Hammad Azhar, and Aun Abbasi.
Despite Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s suggestion that Khan form an “alternate” committee due to the high attrition rate within his party, Khan faced a setback when Khattak announced his resignation as PTI’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president a day earlier.
While senior government ministers have dismissed the idea of discussions with the PTI chief, Sanaullah has indicated a potential possibility for negotiation. In an interview with Voice of America (VOA), he reassured that Prime Minister Shehbaz would react “positively” if approached by the PTI chief for talks.
Sanaullah expressed his disappointment over Khan’s approach of forming negotiation committees while avoiding direct interaction with political adversaries. However, he also acknowledged that given the current circumstances, especially following the incidents of May 9, it might not be the ideal moment for the government to commence discussions with PTI, keeping in view the feelings of the families of the martyrs.
