No 'minus Imran' condition for talks, says Rana Sanaullah

With the impasse prevailing among the key stakeholders in the country politically, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah stated on Friday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has not imposed any “minus Imran” condition on politically engaging with anyone.

A day before, the premier's advisor had offered "confidence-building measures" between the leadership of PML-N, PTI, and PPP; they might lower the political temperature.

He said: “Prime Minister Shehbaz has not made any demand to minus Imran Khan politically. We neither want to minus anyone nor do we find it a politically viable option. Attempts to minus us have worked before,” said Sanaullah in a private talk show.

As the Leader of the House, PM Shehbaz has made an offer to the opposition that they should talk to him because talks are very imperative in parliamentary democracy, said Sanaullah.

Holding that a step had to be taken forward by the opposition PTI, a senior leader of the opposition party said in a statement that “dialogue as a representative of the president, the PML-N supremo, and the establishment is a part of the premier’s responsibility.”

When asked about the statement he had made the previous day, he said that the Prime Minister might have had Chairman Nawaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari, and the establishment in confidence before reaching out to the opposition for a dialogue offer.

Sanaullah further added, "This happened despite the initiatives taken by Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) and the second- and third-tier leadership of PTI to start dialogue. Nothing much could happen unless 'Imran Khan's policy shifted in favor of dialogue’."

This was noted by the PM’s advisor who added that the founder of the PTI has not authorized anyone to sit at the negotiating table. His message to the protesters is an important one—anyone who talks about negotiated talks is not one of them.