PTI, govt hold high-level backdoor meeting

• PTI would require clear change of policy to reconcile with rivals.
• Final decision for reconciliation rests with party founder Imran Khan.
• Second tier leadership realises party should oust hawkish elements. 
  

ISLAMABAD: A high-level backchannel meeting was held between the government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). 

An informed source confided to The News that the meeting was attended by two important players of the government, including a minister and an official. The PTI side was represented by a key leader of the party.

Regarding the outcome of the meeting held Wednesday night, the source said the PTI would have to choose whether it wishes to continue with the politics of agitation and confrontation or it really wants reconciliation.

The source said that if the PTI continues with its policy of agitation, violence, attacking the army and its top leadership and hurting the economy, there won’t be any outcome of these backchannel contacts. 

If it opts for reconciliation, it would require clear change of policy and departure from its past few years’ politics. If the PTI wants political space and intends to return to normal politics, the source said, it would have to stop its confrontation with the army and its top leadership and in no manner do any politics which may hurt the economy of the country.

Primarily Imran Khan, the source said, would have to decide. Khan, it is believed, knows how important these backchannel contacts are.

According to the source, the future of these backchannel talks and their success depends on required confidence building measures (CBMs) from the PTI side. Clear signs of departure from past two-and-a-half years policy would help the PTI to get much needed political space.

In case of required CBMs, the PTI would also see a better change which, the source insists, may not be immediate but incremental and sustainable. In case of the continuation of politics of agitation and attacks on army and economy, the source said the PTI will get nothing but more difficulties.

Meanwhile, the PTI second tier leadership also realises that the party needs to check the hawkish elements within its ranks and file and pursue the option of negotiation and reconciliation. 

Background interaction with some of the leaders show that the party knows that in the case of pursuing policy of reconciliation and negotiation, the PTI’s sufferings would not end immediately but the things would start changing for better.

Many party leaders agree that attacking the army and hitting the economy will not deliver any good to the party or its founder chairman Khan. 

Referring to the ouster of singer Salman Ahmad from PTI by the party, one of these leaders said that all such elements should be removed from the party. The hawks had hijacked the party and led it to the politics of confrontation.

It is relevant to mention here that the military establishment has recently made it clear that it has nothing to do with the ongoing reported behind the scene contacts between the PTI and the government. 

A source, associated with the establishment, had denied the impression, given or perceived by some people, as if these background contacts are either the consequence of the initiative of the security establishment or there is any interaction between the institution and the PTI.

Originally published in The News