PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said that the party would abandon talks with the government by January 28 unless they were allowed to meet with incarcerated party founder Imran Khan.

Since Imran’s incarceration last year in several cases, PTI’s relations with the government and the establishment have deteriorated sharply, marked by protests that frequently escalated into violence amid state repression.

Talks between the government and the PTI commenced in the last week of December to bring down political temperatures, but despite weeks of negotiations, the dialogue process has hardly moved forward on major issues — the formation of a judicial commission and the release of PTI prisoners.

The third meeting kicked off on January 16 under the NA speaker’s oversight and was attended by six people, including three PTI leaders, from the opposition, while eight represented the government.

During the meeting, the PTI formally presented its demands in written form. The three-page document, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was signed by the six opposition members who attended today’s huddle.

Speaking on the Dawn News programme ‘Doosra Rukh’ on Sunday, Raja alleged that the government had not allowed the PTI to meet Imran, despite requests.

“In the last meeting, we asked to meet him alone, without the tools or officers of the state present,” the PTI leader said. “But it does not seem to be happening now.”

The PTI secretary general warned that if no such meeting takes place, then the party would abandon talks. “If such a meeting does not happen, I see talks ending on January 27 or 28.”

He added that even if the meeting takes place, the only person capable of moving the date of the talks is Imran himself.

‘We will talk to the establishment’

When asked if the PTI would negotiate with the establishment, Raja replied, “We will talk with them. We want a constitutional system in place in this country.”

He replied that the ground realities must be understood and that the PTI is open to talking with all actors. “The government committee will take instructions from the establishment, but we are ready to continue negotiations with them. If needed, they can take their instructions.

“Our priority is keeping talks moving forward,” Raja stated, adding that he welcomed PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan’s recent meeting with Army Chief General Asim Munir.

“We have always said that unless we speak with the establishment, be it alone or with political parties, we will not be able to achieve political stability or the supremacy of the Constitution and there will always be doubts about the electoral process,” Raja said.

“Us sitting together is a great achievement. These talks must continue.”