ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, has claimed that the government initially agreed to allow him to meet PTI Chairman Imran Khan in an unsupervised environment but is now backtracking on the commitment.
Speaking to the media, Ayub clarified that PTI’s negotiation committee had outlined three main demands regarding the meeting, one of which was to facilitate a meeting between Imran Khan and the opposition leaders in an unsupervised setting. According to Ayub, the government had initially accepted the request but is now denying that it was ever included in the jail rules.
“We specifically asked for a meeting without supervision, and the government committee had accepted this demand,” Ayub stated. “However, days have passed, and we still haven’t been able to meet with our leader.” He added that the government is now denying that such a provision exists in the jail rules, questioning whether the authorities even have the necessary powers to facilitate such a meeting.
Ayub further demanded clarity from the government, asking, “Do they even have the authority to arrange this meeting? If they do, then they must make it happen.”
He also noted that Speaker of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq had been asked to ensure that the meeting demands were officially recorded as part of the meeting minutes.
Meanwhile, the dispute between PTI’s negotiation committee and jail authorities over the meeting with Imran Khan continues. On the day of the last negotiation, there was a lack of communication between the two parties, further delaying the process.
Imran Khan’s lawyer, Faisal Chaudhry, stated that PTI representatives are willing to meet Imran Khan but only if the jail authorities officially invite them. “We will come to the jail if the authorities send us an invitation,” Chaudhry said.
Jail sources, however, maintained that no representatives from the PTI leadership, lawyers, or family members have come to the prison for a meeting. “Until someone officially arrives to request the meeting, we cannot grant permission,” said a jail official.
