Not government’s stance to initiate talks with PTI, says Rana Sanaullah

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said Wednesday that doors remain open for negotiations with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), but clarified that it was not the government's stance to formally initiate talks, Aaj News reported.

While addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Rana Sanaullah said that informal talks with the PTI leaders never ended, but there were no formal talks going on at the moment.

“PTI recently sought permission from Islamabad's district administration for the long march. This is also a form of contact,” Rana Sana said, explaining that such contacts cannot be described as formal.

He further said that the government was always ready to negotiate with politicians.

“Imran is not a politician, he is a political terrorist,” Sanaullah said, adding: “What he has been doing, this is not what politicians do.”

Asked about whether the government will allow PTI's long march to enter Islamabad, Sanaullah said that the PTI has already approached the court over the matter and that it is now under judicial consideration.

“The top courts have defined the parameters (for staging demonstrations in the federal capital). If they (PTI) submit a surety to observe those parameters to the court then permission will be given to them,” the federal interior minister said.

To a question about why the negotiations were derailed in the first place, the minister explained that a politician never turns down an opportunity for talks.

“But, whenever the government spoke about negotiations, all they would get in return would be a bushel of abuse.

“That is why the government has taken the stance that we will not talk of negotiations,” he added.