ISLAMABAD: The beleaguered Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said on Wednesday that it is ready to engage in talks with the government for the sake of political stability and the development of the country.

The party announced this after a meeting of its parliamentary committee, which was chaired by the PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan and attended by senior party leaders.

The PTI has consistently declined to engage in talks with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led ruling coalition, saying that it will only negotiate with the powerful military, which it believes holds the ultimate authority.

The party has now consented to engage in talks with the government, after the military establishment paid no heed to its demand for dialogue.

However, before proceeding with talks, it has set conditions that include the release of its imprisoned leaders and formation of a judicial commission to investigate the events of May 9 and the crackdown on its workers on November 26 in Islamabad.

In its meeting, the party said that it is ready for talks with the incumbent regime given the deteriorating economic conditions and political instability in the country.

It maintained that the only reason which compels it to hold talks is the deteriorating economic situation and the political instability which is going from bad to worse with each passing day.

The PTI warned that any attempt to coerce the elected representatives of the sole federal political party will be resisted, and those behind it all will not succeed in the motives to intimidate the party.

It also said that it will protest both inside and outside parliament, as well as the provincial assembly of Punjab, given that most of the legislators facing pressure to resign are from Punjab.

This protest will be started if no action is taken against those behind pressuring the elected representatives of the people to step down as lawmakers, it said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024