Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah told the opposition on Friday that “serious negotiations” can only be held with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

In a tweet, the interior minister wrote “if serious negotiations are desired, they can only be with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif”.

His tweet comes after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif and Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) offer to hold talks.

There is high demand from public and political parties for talks between PTI and the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Nawaz Sharif said negotiations are held with politicians, not with a “group of terrorists who burn the memorials of martyrs and set the country on fire.”

The PTI had even constituted a negotiating team to hold talks with the government on Imran’s instructions.

The team included Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pervez Khattak, Asad Qaiser, Haleem Adil Sheikh, Aun Abbasi, Murad Saeed and Hammad Azhar. However, Khattak later resigned from the party.

Echoing Nawaz’s views, Marriyum Aurangzeb also ruled out negotiations with PTI last week, stating that talks could not be held with those who attacked the state.

She was referring to nationwide protests following the arrest of Imran on May 9 by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The protests soon transformed into violence and state properties were attacked, destroyed and set on fire.

In a statement issued here, Marriyum said Imran was not appealing for negotiations; he was seeking an “NRO”.