In a key development, jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan has nominated Sahibzada Mohammad Hamid Raza, chief of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), as the spokesperson for his party’s negotiation committee with the Pakistan government. Khan has called for a meeting with his negotiating team to ensure a meaningful dialogue on clear issues.
Imran Khan, chief of the PTI-a party he founded-said he would consider postponing what was announced as a civil disobedience movement if the government agrees to his party’s demands. Raza, a National Assembly member and chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights, is also an alliance partner of the PTI.
He announced this during a meeting with Khan’s legal team at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where he has been detained since last year. In an X post, Khan said, “The efforts of the party’s negotiation committee are a good thing. To make the negotiation process meaningful, it is important that I meet with my nominated negotiation team.”
On Monday, representatives from the PTI and the government convened for their first meeting, agreeing to continue discussions on contentious issues, including Khan’s release. The talks were chaired by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, who has taken the initiative to facilitate dialogue amid rising political tensions.
The meeting followed the decision of the Shehbaz Sharif-led government to form a negotiation committee after the PTI threatened to launch civil disobedience. Khan has issued certain pre-requisites for the talks to move ahead and these include the release of all under-trial political prisoners from his party and the constitution of a judicial commission to probe happenings from May 9, 2023, and November 26 this year.
Khan said he was afraid the government might ignore these crucial demands: “If these demands are implemented, we will postpone the civil disobedience movement. But I fear that the government will try to sideline our demands for investigations.”
He termed the military court system as “unconstitutional,” citing their verdicts would hurt the international standing of Pakistan and even place it under economic embargo by the international community. Khan held that the Constitutional Bench formation against the October amendment has made the judiciary dysfunctional, citing that trial by military courts of civilians lowers the dignity of the judiciary.
Khan also announced a fresh civil disobedience movement, calling upon the Pakistani diaspora to boycott remittances if his demands are not met before December 22. He mentioned the ongoing oppression and suppression of democracy and the judiciary in Pakistan.
After the arrest of Khan in 2023, there were huge protests, during which his supporters set military installations across the country on fire. In major attacks, the Army headquarters in Rawalpindi was vandalized. PTI had protested earlier as well, in which a big protest on November 26 led to the arrest of hundreds of them.
