Agencies
PTI’s KP information secretary Shaukat Ali Yousafzai on Thursday distanced the party from YouTubers campaigning against state institutions, saying they had no links with PTI and that such campaigns had negatively affected the party.
Speaking in an interview with a private television channel, Yousafzai said PTI founder Imran Khan had always referred to the armed forces as his own institution, adding that no other viewpoint would be entertained on the matter.
He said PTI had always condemned terrorism and described it as unjustified to label the party’s leaders or workers as facilitators of terrorists. He also alleged that the government had used concerns over peace and security as a pretext to impose emergency and governor’s rule in K-P, calling the move unjustified.
He expressed confidence in Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Salman Akram Raja, adding that he would not be “intimidated by a YouTuber” based overseas.
Meanwhile, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja has rejected claims that non-functional Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was responsible for the breakdown of negotiations with the federal government, saying the talks collapsed over the denial of access to PTI founder Imran Khan’s personal physicians and concerns over provincial autonomy
In an interview with a private television channel on Thursday, he said the refusal to allow Khan’s personal doctors to examine him was one of the two principal reasons behind the failure of the negotiations.
He said PTI could not grant the federal government unrestricted authority to intervene in the affairs of KP. “These were the two principal reasons why the talks collapsed,” Raja said, alleging that the government had deliberately undermined the negotiations.
The PTI leader also described the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in the province as unconstitutional, alleging that the government had introduced the measures to take control of the provincial administration. “They just wanted to take over the province,” he said. Raja said an all-parties conference (APC) was being planned within the next 10 days, or earlier, to discuss the prevailing political situation. “This is a political issue and therefore all political parties must play their role,” he said.
He disclosed that several political parties were in contact with him over the situation, including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
Asked about the role of Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Raja said the final decision rested with the PTI founder. He described Achakzai and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen chief Allama Nasir Abbas as a shield for the party, adding that PTI would continue to seek their political advice and support. Raja also maintained that PTI’s long march had not ended, signalling that the party’s political campaign would continue.
Separately, PTI leader and Senator Syed Ali Zafar denied that negotiations with the government were imminent, saying decisions concerning the party would be made by its parliamentary party.
“We are yet to determine the terms of reference,” Zafar said while speaking to a journalist from the same television channel. He further alleged that the government had decided to impose governor’s rule around one-and-a-half months earlier.