ISLAMABAD: The PTI did not end up attending Tuesday’s meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) after its requested meeting with jailed party founder Imran Khan failed to materialise.

Instead, the party held a press conference along with its allies, warning that hastily opening new fronts within the country or attempting to resolve relations with neighbouring countries through force would lead to further deterioration of the situation.

Opposition alliance Tehreek Tahaffuz-i-Ayeen Pakistan head Mahmood Khan Achakzai said holding a high-level security meeting without the involvement of Imran Khan was meaningless.

He was flanked by PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen chief Senator Raja Nasir Abbas and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) head Sahibzada Hamid Raza. Mr Achakzai claimed that the leaders of the PTI and other parties were not allowed to meet Imran Khan.

Opposition leaders warn against opening up new fronts; Imran backs party’s decision to stay away from parliamentary huddle

PTI’s Salman Akram Raja said that the party had decided to skip the meeting, adding that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur attended the meeting. The PTI leader said the opposition party was not in favour of any operation and suggested the issue be addressed through negotiations.

In a statement, the PTI claimed that during a party meeting, it was unanimously agreed that the PTI representatives would not attend the committee meeting until a meeting with Imran Khan was arranged.

“The illegal use of violence is a cancer that the state must stop. Combating terrorism is a complex, sensitive, and serious issue that requires seriousness and wisdom. The key to tackling terrorism lies in achieving complete internal stability. The nation cannot effectively confront a major challenge like terrorism if it is sacrificed to political biases and divisions,” it stated.

It claimed that without public support and backing, achieving any serious objective was impossible.

Meanwhile, PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqqas Akram stated that peace and progress in the country would remain an unattainable dream unless the state undertook a fundamental and immediate course correction.

He emphasised that the state should strictly confine its role within constitutional limits, accept constitutional supremacy, uphold the public mandate without compromise, safeguard people’s rights unconditionally, completely abandon all coercive practices, and, above all, prioritise national interest over narrow personal and political agendas.

Imran backs party decision

Separately, Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan claimed on Tuesday that her brother had endorsed the party’s decision to boycott the NSC meeting.

Talking reporters after meeting Mr Khan at Adiala jail, she said that her brother was not aware of the meeting and, when she told him about it, he noted that this was probably why his television access had been curtailed.

Quoting her brother, Ms Khan said that the party took the right decision by not attending the meeting without consulting him.

Meanwhile, Niazullah Khan Niazi, a spokesperson for Imran Khan, told Dawn that the PTI founder was saddened by recent terrorist attacks, and maintained that as the largest political party, the PTI could not be sidelined at such a critical juncture.

Mr Niazi said the party founder criticised “stakeholders”, including the PML-N government, for excluding the PTI from the peace process.

According to Mr Niazi, the incarcerated party founder could have been released on parole to allow him to participate in the national security huddle, since he is the head of a popular political party with a national presence.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2025