Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the party is now pursuing a dual approach of negotiation and resistance, adding that any final decision on talks will be taken by the party’s founding chairman, Imran Khan.
Speaking informally to journalists at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail on Wednesday, where he remains incarcerated, Qureshi emphasized the PTI leadership's desire to engage in dialogue, but only with the "actual decision-makers."
"This is what we always wanted. Talks should be held with the real power centres," Qureshi remarked. He added that once the right channel is established, the PTI would then be willing to negotiate with political stakeholders.
Qureshi made it clear that the PTI has not shut the door on reconciliation but warned that if no meaningful response is received, the party will have no choice but to resort to protest.
"We want to talk. But if there is no response, then peaceful protest is our only option," he said.
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He also called on PTI Chairman Barrister Ali Gohar and Secretary General Salman Akram Raja to visit PTI leaders in jail for discussions, possibly regarding the legal and political roadmap.
A day ago, five senior PTI leaders, currently imprisoned in multiple cases, called for immediate dialogue with the government to resolve the country's deepening political crisis.
In an open letter from jail, PTI leaders Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, Ejaz Chaudhry, and Omar Sarfaraz Cheema urged all stakeholders to engage in negotiations, emphasizing that "dialogue is the only way out of the worst crisis."
The letter stresses the need for political-level discussions and asserts that arrested leaders should be included in any dialogue process. The PTI leaders maintained that the responsibility to initiate talks lies with the government, but insisted that any such move must be taken in consultation with the party’s incarcerated founder, Imran Khan.
