Fawad says PTI not engaged in 'formal dialogue' with govt

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry said Thursday that his party was not engaged in a "formal dialogue" with the government at any stage, Aaj News reported.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Fawad said that informal negotiations may be taking place at certain levels, warning that the long march will be announced soon if elections are not declared.

When asked if informal negotiations were succeeding, he said: "If elections are announced in the coming days, it means negotiations were successful and if the long march is announced, it means negotiations failed."

SC dismisses govt's request to stop Imran Khan’s planned long march

PTI leader said that in recent by-polls, people voted for PTI because they want fresh elections.

"Voters do not want us to go back to the Parliament," he said, stressing that they want elections.

Fawad said the Supreme Court should form a commission to investigate the issue of audio leaks from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Imran warns of long march if election date not given in 'few days'

Earlier this week, the PTI chairman said that if the election date is not announced by the government in a few more days he will call the party's long march toward Islamabad, warning that he would not delay it beyond October.

Imran said he wanted to give the government a few more days for the sake of the country.

"I repeat that they still have time to announce elections, and if they don’t, I will begin my march, and my preparations are almost complete," Imran said.

In a related development, the SC rejected on Thursday the government’s request to bar PTI chairman, Imran Khan, from creating a perceived law and order situation through a planned long march.

Oct 16 by-polls: PTI wins majority of seats in all three provinces

A five-member larger bench, headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, and comprising Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, and Justice Sayyed Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi took up the case.

The government had filed a contempt petition against Imran for disregarding the orders of the top court passed on May 25 on a petition filed by the Islamabad High Court Bar Association.

The SC had allowed the PTI to hold its Azadi March protest near Peshawar Mor between the H-9 and G-9 area of Islamabad.

During the hearing, the CJP said that the government can deal with the situation in accordance with the law, saying that steps should be taken wherever there are threats in cities.

“You should request the court to stop the crowd when people gather. There is no crowd right now,” Justice Bandial said.