PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced that the party is now pursuing a dual strategy of negotiation and resistance, with the party’s founding chairman Imran Khan to take the final call on talks.
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.”
“We’ve always desired this. “We should have discussions with the actual power centers,” Qureshi said. He went on to say that the PTI would be open to talks with political stakeholders after the proper channel was established.
Qureshi clarified that the PTI has not ruled out reconciliation but cautioned that the party will be forced to protest if it does not receive a meaningful response.
“We’d like to speak. However, we have no choice but to peacefully protest if there is no response,” he stated.
Additionally, he invited PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and Chairman Barrister Ali Gohar to visit PTI leaders in prison for talks, potentially about the political and legal roadmap.
Five top PTI leaders, who are incarcerated in various cases, demanded yesterday that the government engage in immediate talks to address the nation’s escalating political crisis.
PTI leaders Qureshi, Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, Ejaz Chaudhry, and Omar Sarfaraz Cheema wrote an open letter from jail urging all parties to negotiate, stressing that “dialogue is the only way out of the worst crisis.”
