ISLAMABAD: The PTI has agreed to put its planned civil disobedience movement on hold till Sunday as the opposition party expressed its willingness to engage with the government for the sake of the country and its development.

PTI lawyer Chaudhry Faisal Hussain on Wednesday said Imran Khan had asked the party leadership to wait till Sunday and if the government did not accept their demands, then they should go ahead with the civil disobedience campaign.

According to Mr Hussain, either the government should accept the demands of the PTI or convince the opposition party that the demands are not genuine and talks cannot be held to address them. He said that Imran Khan was of the view that their demands were genuine because the PTI workers were in jail for one and a half years in light of the May 9 violence.

It is worth mentioning that PTI has floated two conditions, i.e. the release of prisoners and the constitution of a judicial commission to probe the May 9 riots and the D-Chowk crackdown in November as confidence-building measures.

Party ‘willing to talk’ to govt to steer country out of crises, sticks to judicial probe demand

A day earlier, PTI founder Imran Khan warned that he would ask overseas Pakistanis to halt remittances if the government failed to meet his demands, including the release of incarcerated party workers and the formation of judicial commissions to investigate the May 9 riots and the Nov 26 crackdown on PTI workers in Islamabad.

Parliamentary party

In a statement after its parliamentary party meeting, the PTI claimed that the issues of Pakistan could not be addressed without dialogue, claiming talks were essential for the development of the country.

The PTI showed willingness for the talks, claiming that it was for the development and stability of the country, claiming founder Imran Khan wanted the country to progress, but the government had created a number of obstacles and difficulties for the country. “Imran Khan has formed the committee for the negotiations with a positive thinking and approach,” the declaration stated.

During the meeting, the party members paid tribute to those who reportedly died on November 26 and claimed that the party leadership was standing by martyrs and their families. They demanded the release of all leaders and workers of the PTI, including Imran Khan.

The PTI leaders also demanded that a judicial commission should be established to investigate the incidents of May 9 and November 26 violence. They also condemned the raids at the houses of members of national and provincial assemblies in Punjab.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2024