Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has expressed doubts about Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) commitment to ongoing negotiations with the government, describing the talks as a “mere mockery.” In an interview with Geo News, Asif voiced his skepticism, stating he is “100% suspicious” of PTI’s intentions, suggesting they are merely stalling for time.
His remarks come ahead of the third and “decisive” negotiation session between the government and PTI, scheduled for January 16 at Parliament House. PTI is expected to formally present its demands during this in-camera meeting.
Asif accused PTI leaders of not being genuinely interested in securing the release of their leader, Imran Khan, who has been imprisoned since August following his conviction in the Toshakhana case. “PTI leaders are not serious about negotiating Imran Khan’s release,” Asif claimed. Despite his doubts, Asif stated he still supports dialogue, highlighting that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders, including Nawaz Sharif and Rana Sanaullah, back the talks, though little progress has been made so far.
On the other side, PTI reiterated its demands ahead of the crucial meeting. PTI spokesperson Sahibzada Hamid Raza called for the formation of an impartial judicial commission, led by a senior Supreme Court judge, to investigate key events such as the violence on May 9, 2023, and November 26, 2024.
Raza emphasized that forming the judicial commission and releasing political prisoners are essential to PTI’s demands. He warned that the dialogue process would not continue if these demands were not met by the January 31 deadline. “If the government believes PTI is responsible for the May 9 violence, they should release the CCTV footage,” Raza urged, calling for transparency in the investigation.
The upcoming session is seen as a crucial effort to ease political tensions, with both sides under pressure to achieve meaningful progress.
