Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, stated that the party is ready to engage in negotiations with anyone, whether human or angel, to resolve ongoing political issues.
Speaking to the media after his appearance in the Peshawar High Court on Monday, he stated that if the demands are not met, the party will resort to launching a civil disobedience movement.
He revealed that a negotiating committee was formed following a meeting with PTI’s founder on December 5. The committee comprises Ayub himself, Hamid Raza, and Salman Akram Raja. This committee will push for the dismissal of cases filed against PTI leaders and workers.
Ayub also commented on the broader political situation in Pakistan, claiming that the country is under a form of martial law, where state-sponsored terrorism has made ordinary citizens unsafe.
He accused the government of using modern weapons against peaceful protesters and noted a sharp increase in the number of first information reports (FIR) filed against PTI members.
Addressing personal grievances, Ayub said that his car and the cash inside it had gone missing. He also revealed that he was attacked with a shell on the Hazara Motorway, and when he questioned the Chief Secretary and Inspector General (IG) of Police, they were unable to provide answers.
He further shared that he had filed a request for an FIR against the IG of Islamabad at the Haripur police station. “The IG of K-P and the Chief Secretary are trembling,” he added.
The PTI leader was accompanied by Senator Shibli Faraz, MNA Shaukat Yousafzai, and MNA Muhammad Asif Khan, who all voiced their concerns about the ongoing political situation. They announced that a condolence reference would be held on Friday to honour those injured and missing during recent protests.
In response to a question about PTI’s former member, Faisal Vawda, Ayub stated that it was unclear which party Vawda represented.
Separately, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has announced plans to hold a memorial ceremony for deceased Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers on December 25 at Minar-e-Pakistan, and challenged the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to also hold a rally on the same day.
K-P officials declared that they would prove that more people would attend their gathering in support of Imran Khan than the one organized by the opposition party.
The announcement was made by Special Assistant to the Chief Minister Sohail Afridi during a session of the K-P Assembly on Monday.
Afridi expressed outrage over the violent crackdown on unarmed protesters on November 26, stating that the moral values in the country have deteriorated and that some people are too indebted to speak out for justice.
He stressed that they had gone to D-Chowk in Islamabad to assert their constitutional and legal rights and if former prime minister Imran Khan had not been unjustly imprisoned, they would not have been forced to protest in the capital.
He further stated that despite knocking on the doors of law for the past two and a half years, they had not received justice.
He revealed that PTI workers had written letters to judges seeking intervention and remarked that no resistance movement had been as sustained as the one led by PTI workers. He also highlighted that the party’s leadership remains unjustly imprisoned.
Afridi challenged PML-N to hold a rally in Punjab on December 25th, stating that if the PTI rally failed to attract more people than the PML-N’s, he would resign.
He urged that Pashtuns have always stood against injustice and will not bow to oppression. He further remarked that those who have exploited the blood of Pashtun people should not lecture them.
