PTI to hold talks only when concerns are addressed: Asad Qaiser

ISLAMABAD: Former National Assembly (NA) speaker Asad Qaiser on Sunday lamented the political victimisation of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, saying that PTI will only hold talks when its concerns are addressed, ARY News reported.

Speaking at ARY News programme ‘Sawwal Ye Hai’, the PTI leader demanded that the incumbent government take concrete steps to restore the party’s mandate, which he claimed was stolen in the recently-held general elections.

Asad Qaiser said that the government is talking about negotiations, but it needs to take trust-building measures first. He added that the PTI will only hold talks when its concerns are addressed first.

He termed the government’s offer of negotiations ‘a public stunt’, saying that the PML-N was instead using force to suppress his party’s voice.

He also demanded that the issue of Form 45 be discussed in a joint session of parliament, noting that this was the only way to move forward and ensure the legitimacy of the electoral process.

“[Prime Minister] Shehbaz Sharif does not have public support, how will the country be brought out of the crisis”, he asked.

Asad Qaiser warned that if PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif failed to take a “principled stance”, his position in future would be like Chaudhry Shujaat’s.

Earlier, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) took a major U-turn on holding dialogue with establishment following the press conference of Director-General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), seeking apology from the party over May 9 events.

Speaking at ARY News programme ‘Khabar’, PTI leader Asad Qaiser said that his party does not want to engage in talks with anyone, emphasising that it only seeks to uphold “constitutional and legal supremacy”.

The former National Assembly (NA) speaker said that PTI believes in the supremacy of the Constitution and the law, and wants all institutions to work within their constitutional limits.

He also mentioned that PTI wants to take along all those who have reservations about the recently-held elections, clarifying that they will not engage with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).