Rana Sanaullah dismisses speculation of “backdoor talks” between PTI and ruling establishment

Islamabad: “Ongoing backdoor talks” between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the establishment have been denied by Rana Sanaullah, the Prime Minister’s Advisor on Political and Public Affairs, according to The Express Tribune. He said that there will be no discussions with the PTI via unauthorized means.

Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, the PTI chairman, had earlier said that the party was not in negotiations with any other parties. According to The Express Tribune, Sanaullah criticized PTI for skipping the fourth round of talks with the government in an interview with a local TV news program on Tuesday.

Sanaullah said, “Political issues can only be resolved through the official dialogue table, which they [PTI] abandoned today.” His comments followed PTI’s decision to abandon Tuesday’s fourth session of negotiations since the government had not established judicial commissions to look into the May 9, 2023, riots and the November 26, 2024, crackdown on protests in Islamabad.

An assistant to the prime minister of Pakistan criticized the Imran Khan-founded PTI for its political strategy during the previous ten years and for harming Pakistan’s political environment. According to The Express Tribune, he said that by declining to take part in the fourth round of discussions, PTI lost the chance to hear back from the government.

Sanaullah responded to the PTI’s calls for the creation of judicial commissions by saying, “Given the current situation, no judge would want to join such a commission.” He emphasized that any protests will be handled with legal measures in response to PTI’s threats to start demonstrations. He said, “In a democratic system, issues are resolved at the negotiating table, not on the streets.”

In an effort to ease political tensions in Pakistan, negotiations between the PTI and the PML-N-led government began in December of last year. The two teams have met three times since. However, the negotiations came to a standstill after the PTI missed the fourth meeting and said that the government had failed to set up judicial commissions to investigate the May 9, 2023, demonstrations and the November 26, 2024, crackdown on PTI protesters in Islamabad.

According to The Express Tribune, the government’s discussions committee meeting that was supposed to take place on Tuesday was postponed since PTI delegates failed to show up.

Ayaz Sadiq, the speaker of the Pakistan National Assembly, said that the committee will continue to function in spite of the low level of participation. All members were invited, Sadiq said before the meeting, and he hoped that the opposition members would attend.

According to Sadiq, “We waited for 45 minutes but received a message that they would not come.” He said that PTI officials had promised to speak with the party’s senior brass before reacting. He stated his commitment to mediating negotiations and said that the opposition’s absence from the meeting rendered any more conversations pointless.

“My doors remain open, and I hope talks can proceed from both sides,” Ayaz Sadiq said. Attending the meeting, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said that the government was keen to continue the discussions and has prepared a response to the PTI’s requests.

He said, “We came ready to discuss their concerns, but without their presence, how can we respond?” The administration is still hopeful that political disagreements may be settled via dialogue. The meeting’s delay, however, is yet another blow to the attempts to heal the division between the PTI and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).