PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan says the party has never closed the door to negotiations (Express Tribune).
The three conditions he set
– implementation of judicial orders – resolution of issues over meetings with, and medical treatment of, Imran Khan – release of Imran Khan’s detained sisters
On the march
It “would take place and remain peaceful”. He said protest is justified when justice is withheld and concerns go unaddressed.
Why the conditions are worth reading closely
None of them is a political demand. There is no mention of elections, of the 27th Amendment, of seats or of office.
All three are about compliance with things that already exist: court orders that have been issued, jail rules on medical treatment, and the release of people held without charge under a public order ordinance.
That is a notably narrow ask from a party that has spent two years demanding rather more, and it makes the conditions harder for the government to characterise as maximalist.
The difficulty on the other side
The first condition is the hardest, because it is precisely what is contested. The Supreme Court ordered Imran Khan’s transfer to a private hospital on 18 August; a contempt petition over non-implementation was listed for 16 September; and the Federal Constitutional Court has since questioned the order’s basis and summoned the records.
“Implement judicial orders” is not a simple request when the courts are disputing which orders bind whom.
Where the other side is
The prime minister telephoned Jamaat-i-Islami’s chief on Monday asking him to postpone a different march. The information minister was in Peshawar today calling for dialogue and ruling out Governor’s Rule.
And the M-1 motorway closes indefinitely at 11pm.
Lawyers’ support
Lahore Bar Association president Irfan Hayat Bajwa backed the march, saying “arrests and violence would not resolve political disputes”.
What is not established
No contact between the government and PTI has been reported, and no venue, interlocutor or date has been named. The government has not responded to the three conditions.
[Image: Twitter via The Express Tribune]
