Govt must create conducive environment for dialogue with PTI: Gohar

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Tuesday said the government must create a conducive environment for dialogue with the party, noting that on the one hand, PTI leaders and workers are being sentenced, while on the other, the rulers are extending an olive branch to defuse political tensions.

Talking to reporters after being stopped by police at a checkpoint on his way to Adiala Jail, Gohar Ali Khan said that there had been no progress in talks with the government.

He said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had invited the opposition for dialogue on the floor of the National Assembly, and PTI has consistently maintained that political issues should be resolved through political means.

“On the one hand, our people are being sentenced, while on the other hand, there is talk of negotiations. This should not be the case,” he said.

Gohar said that during the PTI’s November 26 protest, no message regarding any meeting with Imran Khan was conveyed, nor was any discussion held about arranging such a meeting at the time. However, he said that before the protest, there had been discussions about arranging a meeting for one of Khan’s sisters. The meeting, however, did not take place because the family insisted that all three sisters be allowed to meet him together.

He further said the party supports the family’s demands regarding meeting with all three sisters with Imran Khan. He emphasized that efforts are being made to ensure access to Imran Khan, stating that there should be no unnecessary hurdles in arranging such meetings.

Gohar also welcomed reports that Bushra Bibi’s family had been allowed to meet her.

He added that Imran Khan’s family should also be allowed to meet him, claiming that 36 weeks had passed without such a meeting, which he described as a matter of concern.

Like the previous weeks, Khan sisters, including Aleema Khan, DrUzma Khan, Noreen Khan, party leaders including Batteries Gohar Khan, PTI secretary general SalamanAkram Raja, MNAs, MPAs as well as workers, gathered near Adiala jail. However, neither family members nor members of the legal team were allowed to meet Khan.

Khan family members, leaders, and workers staged a sit-in at Factory Naka near Adiala jail after they were stopped from moving forward toward Adiala jail. Party workers chanted slogans against the government and demanded the release of Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi. Khan’s sisters and PTI workers continued their sit-in till the filing of this report.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026