Pakistan ruling coalition invites Imran Khan’s party for ‘meaningful’ talks

Lahore, May 27

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The ruling coalition of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has invited jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party to abandon its street protests and engage in a “meaningful” dialogue with the government, a media report said on Monday.

Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal emphasised the government’s openness to talks but stressed that the beleaguered party of Khan must decide with whom it wants to negotiate, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Gilani, speaking to the media in Lahore, reiterated the government’s willingness to negotiate. However, the former prime minister said Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) “seems intent on negotiating with someone else”. The PPP politician said Imran Khan’s party wants to carve its path by confronting the establishment and the government in court. “(Our) doors are open for meaningful talks but the PTI will have to decide with whom they want to negotiate,” Gilani said.

The 71-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician has been in jail since August last year after being convicted in some of the nearly 200 cases slapped on him since his ouster in April 2022.