Imran's protest call negates Achakzai's dialogue wish

• Imran rejects Achakzai’s dialogue call, pushes protests.
• Shehbaz's aide rules out talks without apology over May 9.
• PTI orders KP CM to prepare for protest movement.
  

Imran Khan’s latest statement, posted on his X account, has practically dismissed Mahmood Khan Achakzai’s call for dialogue, as PTI’s information secretary has insisted that Imran Khan’s directive for a protest movement will prevail and be followed.

On the other hand, a source close to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif maintains that without an expression of regret or an apology over the May 9 incidents and anti-army campaigns carried out by Imran Khan and the party’s social media, no meaningful dialogue is possible with the PTI.

When approached, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said that since the policy direction for a protest movement has come directly from party leader Imran Khan, it will prevail. He explained that Achakzai may proceed with his own political initiatives, including dialogue, but PTI leaders are bound to follow Imran Khan’s latest directive. According to Akram, Khan has instructed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister to prepare for a protest movement for the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution.

At a national conference of the opposition alliance held on Saturday, its head, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, declared that the Constitution had been reduced to tatters. At this critical juncture, he urged former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to step forward and initiate dialogue to steer the country out of crisis.

The same day, Imran Khan’s post on X not only targeted the Field Marshal but also issued a directive to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to prepare for a protest movement.

While talking to The News, PTI’s information secretary made it clear that the party would follow Imran Khan’s line. The News contacted Sheikh Waqas Akram to ascertain PTI’s policy and to determine whether the party would follow Achakzai or Imran Khan.

When a senior source close to the prime minister was approached to ascertain how the government would respond to Achakzai’s demand for dialogue, he said: “How can any meaningful dialogue be held with the PTI while ignoring the serious crimes of May 9 and the continued anti-army campaigns by the party and its founder-chairman Imran Khan?”

The source said the Shehbaz government believes that without regret or an apology, dialogue is not possible.

“They attacked military installations, mocked the martyrs and unleashed vilification campaigns against the army and its top command. In such circumstances, no dialogue can take place,” he added.

Originally published in The News