PESHAWAR:
PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan said his party currently has no significant talks with the government, adding that the responsibility to advance the process rests with those in real authority.
“PTI has authorized Mahmood Achakzai to represent the party in dialogue efforts. Achakzai demonstrated political maturity by shaking hands with the Prime Minister. If anyone considers this as our weakness, they are wrong,” Gohar said while talking to reporters on Wednesday.
Emphasizing that political disputes should be resolved politically, the PTI chief said every public office holder has a responsibility to seek solutions to national issues.
Gohar said the PTI had not yet taken any decision regarding the elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and would announce its stand in the next two days.
He clarified that the party has not decided to boycott the AJK elections and termed a message circulating on social media about a boycott as “completely false.”
Gohar said the situation in Kashmir was extremely serious, describing the region as Pakistan’s “neck artery”. He said PTI was closely monitoring the developments and would take important decisions regarding Kashmir in the next few days.
Urging political expediency to be given a chance, he said if the people of Kashmir protested their grievances, their demonstrations should remain peaceful. He also urged the government to avoid bloodshed.
Commenting on reports of the replacement of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi with another party legislator, he said that Afridi was not being replaced and that there was currently no candidate in the provincial assembly who could take over the post.
He said disgruntled PTI lawmakers had been invited to Islamabad for a meeting later in the day where their concerns would be heard. “There is no forward block in PTI,” he said, adding that the party remained united.
The PTI chairman complained that the party had been repeatedly stripped of its election symbol, saying this had created serious difficulties in elections held in Haripur, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.
Regarding PTI founder Imran Khan’s imprisonment, Barrister Gohar expressed serious concern over restrictions on meetings and medical facilities.
He claimed that despite the passage of 250 days, no one had been allowed to meet the PTI founder in jail. He demanded that the meeting schedule be restored immediately. He also urged Imran Khan to receive medical treatment at a hospital of his family’s choice.
Commenting on the KP budget, Gohar said the provincial government had presented an excellent budget but had been forced to present a deficit budget due to financial constraints.
He accused the Federal Government of failing to give KP its due share under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award. He also criticized the imposition of taxes in the former Fata and Pata regions, calling the decision inappropriate.
