PTI ready to hold talks with 'real power', says Arif Alvi

• PM to decide on whether to apprise nation regarding cipher or not: Alvi.
• Alvi praises IHC's verdict saying "cipher case lodged for no reasons".
• Ex-president says Pakistan suffered due to “regime change”.

Former president and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Dr Arif Alvi said on Tuesday that his party would hold dialogue with the one who has real power to make decisions.

He stated this while responding to a question about the impression that incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan was not in favour of holding dialogue with his political opponents to bring stability to the country. 

The statement came after multiple calls from the incumbent government urging the embattled Imran Khan-founded party to hold talks to find a solution to end the political crisis, however, the former ruling party failed to give a clear response so far.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Alvi also said that he has “lost all hope as accountability is impossible in Pakistan”.

He praised the Islamabad High Court's (IHC) verdict in the diplomatic cable case for which he claimed that “the case was lodged for no reason”. As a former head of the state, Dr Alvi maintained that it was prerogative of a prime minister to decide whether to apprise the nation or not regarding a cipher.

The ex-president criticised that the “entire elite class is opposing the accountability or investigation” into the sensitive matters. “I have lost all hope as accountability is impossible in our country,” he added.

“From [former military ruler] Ayub Khan till today, accountability is not our priority. Our people are so sure to see no justice here in Pakistan,” he alleged.

“Pakistan has suffered a major loss due to regime change,” Alvi said referring to the ouster of PTI-led government in April 2022. 

He went on to say that the political developments also impacted the national economy by creating uncertainty everywhere which led the local business class to invest abroad.