• Disappointed party leader says no other option left as govt not heeding ‘peaceful requests’
• Opposition alliance discusses strategy for today’s countrywide protests

ISLAMABAD: After PTI leaders were once again denied a meeting with party founder Imran Khan on Thursday, MNA Ahad Ali Shah said it seemed his party had been left with no option but “to resort to agitation”.

“We have reached the conclusion that the government will not arrange a meeting with Imran Khan if the party remains peaceful,” he told Dawn.

“It seems that we will now have to resort to agitation as the government is not ready to listen to our peaceful requests and demands,” he added.

A day earlier, the PTI had shared a list of six party leaders with the Adiala jail administration to arrange a meeting with Mr Khan in line with directions issued by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

They included MNAs Shah and Sohail Sultan, Vehari General Secretary Salman Bhaba, Bahawalpur General Secretary Shahid Nomi, North Punjab Vice President Sajida Begum and Tayyaba Raja.

Elaborating further, Mr Shah said they reached Adiala jail at around 1:30pm.

“We were informed by the jail administration that a message had been sent and that we should wait for approval. We waited there until 4pm, but did not receive any message from the jail authorities. As the meeting time had ended, we decided to return,” he explained.

The IHC has allowed the PTI founder to hold meetings twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with his family, lawyers, and other associates at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, where he has been incarcerated since 2023. Despite the court order, the former premier has been restricted from meeting visitors for several weeks.

Countrywide protests

While the opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) has decided to hold nationwide protests on Friday, a meeting of the parliamentary parties of its constituent groups was held at Parliament House on Thursday.

The huddle was chaired by opposition leader in the National Assembly and TTAP chief, Mehmood Khan Achakzai. The meeting was attended by more than 70 members of the Senate and National Assembly, including leader of the opposition in the upper house, Allama Nasir Abbas.

Key issues under discussion included the health condition of the PTI founder, matters related to meetings at Adiala jail, and proposals regarding his possible transfer to a hospital.

The participants also consulted on and finalised the strategy for nationwide protests scheduled for Friday.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2026