No talks with government by TTAP

-- Alliance rejects KP emergency and governor’s rule, seeks release of detained PTI leaders and vows legal action against Centre’s decision ISLAMABAD: The Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on Thursday suspended all negotiations with the government, declaring that no talks would take place until a meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan was arranged and information about his health was provided.

In a statement issued after a leadership meeting at the residence of alliance chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai, the opposition alliance said all authority to negotiate with the government would rest exclusively with its chairman. The meeting reviewed the political situation following the imposition of governor’s rule and an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, along with the province’s overall circumstances.

Political tensions between the federal government and the opposition, particularly the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), have remained high since the party announced a long march to demand Imran Khan’s release. The march, initially planned for Islamabad, remained confined to KP before losing momentum following the imposition of governor’s rule.

The TTAP strongly condemned the imposition of governor’s rule and the emergency, describing the measures as a “robbery” and a midnight assault on the Constitution and the people’s mandate. It demanded the immediate withdrawal of the decision, arguing that the move was an insult not only to the people of KP but also to those of all other provinces.

The alliance also announced that it would challenge the decision in the Peshawar High Court. The statement condemned all forms of terrorism, including what it described as state terrorism against the public, actions by state institutions against political parties, and violence between religious sects.

While expressing full support for the National Action Plan, the alliance called for the immediate implementation of the joint resolution adopted by the Aman Jirga and approved by the KP Assembly, instead of introducing new policies. The participants also demanded the immediate release of what they described as the non-functional Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar, and all detained members of the National and provincial assemblies and other party leaders.

The PTI had reported their detention on October 11, shortly after the federal government imposed emergency and governor’s rule in the province. The alliance further demanded the release of Imran Khan’s sisters, who have been detained for nearly three weeks under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance.

It also called for access to the PTI founder, a meeting with him and permission for his doctors to examine him. On Balochistan, the TTAP attributed the deteriorating law and order situation to what it called an unrepresentative provincial government and the federal government’s failed policies.

It said the provincial administration did not reflect the people’s genuine mandate and called for resolving the province’s problems through dialogue with its people rather than the use of force. The alliance also announced that it would approach international human rights organisations and the United Nations over alleged restrictions on judicial independence, curbs on the media, and violations of human rights and the Constitution.