LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Central Punjab chapter secretary general Hammad Azhar has said his party has offered to negotiate only with the “real decision-makers”, apparently a reference to the military establishment, for the sake of restoring the constitution and democracy.

In the backdrop of Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah’s statement that PTI chief Imran Khan should contact Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directly for negotiations, Mr Azhar in a series of tweets on Friday said, “We don’t want to waste time negotiating with puppets”.

He said these (the incumbent rulers) were imposed people, who had no vote bank and were hiding behind crutches.

Mr Azhar posted a video of fashion designer Khadija Shah and stated that senior PTI leader Dr Yasmin Rashid is very unwell in prison. “We must raise our voice for her,” he stated.

Ms Shah can be heard telling a media person that Yasmin Rashid was sick and in bad health last night in the prison.

“She (Dr Rashid) is a very aged but a brave woman,” Ms Shah said and added that everyone should raise their voice for her.

In yet another tweet, Mr Azhar stated that septuagenarian former senior minister Mian Mahmood Rasheed had given a statement in front of a judge that he was tortured in custody.

“This needs a thorough investigation,” he said, asking the inspector general of police about progress on the matter so far.

The PTI leader also said the last 14 months had induced a loss of confidence amongst entrepreneurs in Pakistan. He stated the scale of hopelessness could be compared to Bhutto’s disastrous nationalisation drive of the 70’s from which the country had still not

recovered. “Restore rule of law before its too late,” Mr Azhar demanded.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2023