PTI again offers talks to govt, rejects reports of 'backchannel contacts'

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has once again offered negotiations to the government while rejecting reports that its long march was postponed due to “backchannel contacts”.

In a statement, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said the party had postponed the long march to give the government more time to reconsider its decisions.

However, he said the government had so far given no signal that it was willing to hold negotiations.

The remarks come days after PTI announced that its long march towards Islamabad, originally scheduled for September 27, had been postponed to October 4.

The former ruling party was preparing for a major protest and march on Islamabad, demanding the release of its jailed founder Imran Khan and the “restoration” of constitutional supremacy.

The government has publicly taken a firm position against road blockades and disruption of routine life, while extraordinary security measures were put in place ahead of the original September 27 date.

Raja said the latest wave of terrorism required all sides to sit together and engage in dialogue. He added that if any contact took place, it was not necessary for it to become public immediately.

Sources had told The News that more than half a dozen backchannel meetings between PTI and the authorities over the past four to five weeks had failed to break the deadlock over the party’s proposed march towards Islamabad, although the contacts explored a possible political way out of the confrontation.

The sources said the key issue throughout these contacts was whether PTI would call off, rather than merely postpone, its planned mobilisation. According to the sources, the government and security establishment conveyed that political space could be created for PTI, but politics involving agitation, violence, road blockades and marches would not be acceptable.