Federal Minister for Defence, Khawaja Asif, has claimed that the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is seeking an NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance).
He stated that PTI initially initiated negotiations, and now they are writing letters, which indicates that the party’s founder wants relief.
Khawaja Asif remarked that one can easily assess the mental state of PTI’s founder, as the party is in complete disarray.
He added that negotiations were being conducted at the request of those involved in the Toshakhana case.
According to him, PTI’s founder is currently in a state of deep despair and is desperate for relief.
The Defence Minister further stated that even the former prime minister is reconsidering his aggressive stance. He revealed that “during the negotiations, the primary demand was an NRO,” he revealed.
On the other hand, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan has clarified that he has neither read nor seen the letter written by the party’s founder to the Army Chief.
He stated that the former prime minister had mentioned the letter to journalists during his time in Adiala Jail.
Gohar Ali Khan confirmed that there had been communication with the establishment in October, followed by a meeting in a law and order-related session. Still, he confessed not having recently been in touch with the association.
This argument that the founder of PTI is asking for NRO has sparked much debate in government corridors. “NRO” is a political settlement or legal relief way of offering culminating cases against political figures against agreements with the ruling authorities.
Khawaja Asif’s comments suggest that the PTI leadership is currently looking for an exit but before it wasn’t. The minister states that negotiations and letters for the party show a frantic need to secure an agreement.
Conversely, the PTI top leaders have sought to play down these assertions. The party insists their contacts with the establishment were limited to October and no negotiation has been happening lately.
Pakistan’s political landscape is quite fraught as both the ruling party and PTI point fingers at one other.
The government asserts PTI is demanding a political solution and the opposition is denying all these by saying they want justice rather than any kind of settlement.
Under this situation, everyone is all eyes for the next steps of the PTI and the ruling coalition, especially on the letter and its contents.
