Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Friday that prospects for political dialogue with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have become increasingly unlikely, especially after the latest social media statement by the party’s founder, Imran Khan.
Speaking to reporters, Sanaullah said the prime minister’s offer for talks, extended on the floor of Parliament, had not been withdrawn. However, he added that the environment had changed significantly after Imran Khan’s recent tweet, which he said had further worsened the political atmosphere.
He said the PTI founder’s statements had “complicated matters” and taken the situation towards deterioration at a time when the government had been trying to revive dialogue.
The government and PTI last held formal negotiations in three meetings between December 2024 and January 2025. The talks broke down after the PTI refused to participate in the next round, initially claiming Imran Khan had ended the dialogue and later saying the process was only paused.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also offered to form a parliamentary committee to continue discussions, but PTI rejected the proposal.
Speaking earlier in the Senate, Sanaullah said the government still believed political issues should be resolved through engagement rather than confrontation. He urged the PTI leadership to return to the negotiating table, saying democracy cannot function without dialogue.
He noted that several senators had requested the formation of a committee to examine PTI’s push for prison meetings with its founder. The adviser said such meetings must follow prison rules and could not be allowed if they posed a risk to public order.
Imran Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023 and faces a wide range of cases, including corruption and terrorism charges.
In a separate statement, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry compared Imran Khan to the founder of the MQM, arguing that PTI had tried to make state institutions controversial. He claimed some people had suspected decades ago that Imran Khan was “planted”, and accused PTI of engaging in conduct harmful to the country.
Talal Chaudhry also echoed the concerns raised by the military spokesperson a day earlier, saying the government would seriously review the points highlighted by the ISPR. He added that all political parties had faced terrorist attacks except PTI, suggesting that there “must be some connection” between the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and PTI.
The minister also criticised the PTI founder for never speaking against Israel, adding that his behaviour resembled that of MQM’s exiled leader.
