Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Mehmood Khan Achakzai did not explicitly rule out talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday but said he was not ready to hold parleys at the Prime Minister’s House or Office or the speaker’s chamber.
“The prime minister is illegitimate. The mandate of millions of Pakistanis — harsh words are rising to my lips; that is why I am silent.
“I am ready to sit anywhere in Pakistan, under any tree. I am ready to visit to house of any party [leader]. But I will not go to the speaker house [sic], the Prime Minister’s House or the prime minister’s chamber,” he said while speaking to the media at Parliament House after a meeting of the opposition leaders.
Achakzai’s remarks were in response to a question about the prime minister’s adviser, Rana Sanaullah, inviting him and PTI Chairperson Barrister Gohar to hold a sitting with the premier. The reporter asked him why the meeting was not taking place.
In a video clip shared by opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahaffuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), Achakzai also said the meeting with the prime minister would take place after a meeting with jailed former premier and PTI founder Imran Khan.
The possibility of a meeting between the prime minister and Achakzai is being seen as a means to defuse the current crisis political crisis in the country, with the PTI’s planned Oct 4 protest march to demand Imran’s release becoming the new bone of contention between the party and the Centre.
The TTAP, which is headed by Achakzai and also includes the PTI, has announced that it would join the protest. And as the PTI remains resolute to go ahead with the march, federal ministers have warned that the Centre would have no other option but to impose the governor’s rule or emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — where Imran’s party is in the government — in light of the security situation in the province and the PTI’s protest call on Oct 4.
For its part, the opposition party has warned the government of dire consequences if such a decision is imposed.
PM Shehbaz had also extended an invitation to the NA opposition leader to sit together for consultations on the issues of national importance and those related to the PTI before leaving for the US. Earlier, the premier also invited Achakzai on Sept 11 for mandatory consultation on the appointment of a new chief election commissioner.
Opposition leaders’ meeting
Achakzai and other opposition leaders held a meeting in the Senate opposition leader’s chamber earlier in the day.
‘Off-the-record talks’
In the morning, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said that the federal government and PTI were engaged in “off-the-record talks” regarding PTI’s planned protest on October 4.
Sanaullah made the remarks while appearing in Geo News’ morning show “Geo Pakistan”.
Sanaullah said that the decision on the proposed march rested with PTI’s senior leadership, “with whom off-the-record consultation is ongoing”.
“So let us see, even if they do not postpone it, we have arrangements in place to stop them,” Sanaullah warned.
He likened the PTI’s march to a “provincial government attacking the capital” in an apparent reference to the PTI-led government in KP.
“If a political party or a private organisation stages a protest, [..] but for a government to attack [..] it cannot be tolerated under any circumstances,” he held.
“The law will be enacted in full force, and they (PTI) will be barred from entering Islamabad,” he added.
Responding to a question about governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sanaullah on Thursday said that the option was “on the table”.
Sanaullah further clarified that the federal government was in talks with coalition parties about imposing governor’s rule in KP. He added that the final decision rested upon the federal government and the Senate, adding that it would only come into effect with parliament’s approval.
Sanaullah alleged that the KP chief minister had not been performing his functions as the province’s chief executive.
“For the past two months, he has not done anything, nothing about development or counter-terrorism efforts or for the welfare of people [..] in fact, all he has done is talk about marching to Islamabad and toppling the federal government.
“They want to take ladders to Islamabad to secure the release of a certain someone,” he added.
Sanaullah reiterated that if a province is “engaged in such illegal and unconstitutional activities, then the Centre has the right to declare emergency or governor rule and assume power”.
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