Ready to hold talks but not for striking deal, says Imran Khan
The Hindu
Imran Khan ready for talks not deals with those who stole PTI's mandate in Pakistan's election
Pakistan's jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that he is ready to hold talks but not to strike a "deal" with anyone who has stolen his party's mandate in the February 8 general election.
Talking to journalists at the high-security Adiala jail in Rawalpindi on May 3, the 71-year-old Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf founder asserted that negotiations were held only with adversaries and therefore the talks should be held with those who were the biggest opponents ofPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)at present, apparently a reference to the military establishment, the Dawn newspaper reported on May 4.
Underlining that he had been saying for 18 months that he was ready to hold negotiations but not to strike a deal, Mr. Khan reiterated that his party would hold talks with everyone but the three parties, the Geo News reported.
"Someone who wants to leave the country or avoid imprisonment makes a deal," he said, in an apparent reference to The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif.
Mr. Khan named Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub and Leader of the Opposition in Senate Shibli Faraz for holding negotiations.
“I have proposed these three names for talks and not for a deal," he said.
The February 8 general elections delivered a fractured mandate. Independent candidates, a majority of them backed by Mr. Khan's PTI, won 93 seats in the 336-member National Assembly. Former three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won 75 seats while the Bilawal Zardari Bhutto-led Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) came third with 54 seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) won 17 seats.
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