LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership has categorically ruled out entering into dialogue with the government from what it describes as a position of weakness, insisting that any talks can only take place after the party secures a \u201clevel playing field\u201d through sustained public mobilisation and street protests.<\/p>\n
The stance underscores PTI\u2019s continued preference for pressure politics over quiet engagement, even as the government signals conditional openness to negotiations.<\/p>\n
The position was articulated by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and PTI Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja during a series of meetings in Lahore, where senior party leaders convened to launch a renewed street movement on the directives of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan. The meetings reflected the party\u2019s resolve to escalate agitation while setting preconditions for any possible reconciliation with the ruling coalition.<\/p>\n
CM Afridi, accompanied by provincial ministers and party lawmakers, arrived in Lahore to formally initiate the fresh phase of protests as instructed by Imran Khan. After a day of political engagements, the chief minister departed for the motorway at around 6:40pm.<\/p>\n
Earlier, during an interaction with senior journalists at a private residence in Lahore\u2019s Defence Housing Authority, CM Afridi asserted that dialogue without resistance would undermine the party\u2019s political position. \u201cWe will be at a loss if we enter into dialogue without resistance. So, the protest movement will continue until the rulers come to the table after recognising the opposition as an equal partner,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Responding to a question on whether PTI had remained stuck in a cycle of protests without tangible outcomes, Afridi said the party was recalibrating its approach. \u201cThis time, we will not make tall claims but do practical work and come up with a positive output,\u201d he said, stressing that the new movement would be measured in action rather than rhetoric.<\/p>\n
PTI Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja echoed the chief minister\u2019s position, stating that no political party could afford to walk into a blind alley. He accused the government of attempting to silence PTI on key issues. \u201cWe are seeing that the government want the PTI to neither speak about its election fraud, the release of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan, nor question institutions\u2019 interference in politics and journalism. Then what should we do?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Raja said reconciliation and dialogue could only proceed once \u201cbasic principles\u201d were agreed upon. Failing that, he said, PTI would take to the streets to force acceptance of those principles through public pressure.<\/p>\n
Following the media interaction, CM Afridi visited the residence of party leader Mirza Afridi before heading towards the Lahore cantonment area, where he planned to meet the families of incarcerated former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema and advocate Hassan Niazi. However, he was stopped from entering the cantonment, triggering sharp criticism from PTI leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cantonment has been made a no-go area,\u201d the KP chief minister said, questioning the legality of the restriction. \u201cI have asked whether Pakistan\u2019s territory ended here and another country\u2019s land started,\u201d he remarked, expressing frustration over what he described as repeated obstruction over the past three days.<\/p>\n
Afridi lamented what he termed harsh treatment by the Punjab government, saying he had repeatedly sought permission to visit party leaders\u2019 residences inside the cantonment but was denied. He demanded that authorities provide a written explanation for stopping him.<\/p>\n
Salman Akram Raja said the KP chief minister had even offered to proceed without his security detail, including KP police and gunmen, but was still not allowed to enter the area.<\/p>\n
Later, CM Afridi met Hassan Niazi\u2019s mother, Noreen Khan, along with other family members, at the residence of Punjab Assembly member Zamirul Hassan Bhatti. During the meeting, Afridi expressed solidarity with the families of jailed PTI leaders and offered prayers for the early release of political detainees. Participants emphasised the need for legal justice, restraint and dialogue, while also calling for respect for the human rights of prisoners.<\/p>\n
The developments come days after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif extended an offer of talks to the opposition while maintaining that any dialogue would be confined to what he termed \u201clegitimate matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, PTI leaders insist that the road to negotiations runs through public mobilisation rather than behind-the-scenes engagement, signalling that political tensions are likely to persist in the near term.<\/p>\n
\u2018Street movement failed to attract public\u2019: Azma<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari ridiculed PTI\u2019s street movement, claiming its \u201creality was exposed in daylight after social media hype overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a post on X, Bokhari said PTI supporters had been circulating images from Bangladesh since the previous night, but the movement failed to attract any public response during the day. She said there was no one even to respond to slogans raised by protesters.<\/p>\n
Taking a jibe at PTI leaders, she said they had \u201ctoured the \u2018Europe of Pakistan,\u2019 Lahore, enough under heavy protocol\u201d and should now return. \u201cPlease, let Lahore breathe in peace,\u201d she remarked, urging PTI leaders to focus on addressing governance and public welfare issues in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa instead of staging what she termed ineffective protests in Punjab.<\/p>\n
courtesy pakistantoday.com.pk<\/p>\n
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