'House arrest for Imran Khan an option if he accepts present setup'

• No pre-conditions for dialogue from govt side, says source.
• PTI will come up with its formal demands in Jan 2 meeting.
• Siddiqi says shifting Khan to Bani Gala not under consideration.

ISLAMABAD: The government may consider offering a deal of house arrest to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, provided he does not challenge the present system.

There will be no compromise on May 9, the present coalition government will continue till 2029, but a key member of the coalition government’s negotiating team said that Khan can be shifted to Bani Gala from Adiala jail, only if he accepts the present system and stops agitational politics.

Talking to The News on condition of not being named, the source said that there were no pre-conditions for the dialogue from the government side, but its stance on key issues was clear.

He said though the PTI would come up with its formal demands in the January 2 meeting of the two committees, the positions of both the sides on core issues were poles apart.

The PTI wanted release of all its leaders (primarily Khan) and workers, and it wishes to bring its founder chairman back to power.

For the government side, it knows there is no compromise on May 9, all those facing serious charges including Khan will have to get themselves cleared from courts and the present government will continue till 2029.

Senator Irfan Siddiqi, when contacted, however, said that no proposal like shifting of Khan to Bani Gala had been either discussed among the PML-N committee members or with other committee members representing allies. He said he was not in knowledge of such consideration, if any, in backchannel discussions.

He reiterated the government’s formal position that the official committee would respond to what the PTI would formally present in the next meeting.

The senator disclosed that during the first meeting on the issue of release of political prisoners, the government committee had conveyed it to the PTI that the latter, which had ruled the country for almost four years, would better know that none of the politicians who were jailed during Khan’s government were released through an executive order.

Siddiqi said the PTI committee was told that most of the government’s committee members, attending the meeting, were jailed during the PTI government and all of them were released through judicial process.

The PML-N senator said there had been an informal discussion among members of the government committee about what they need to discuss with the PTI.

He said the government committee would not put forward any person-specific or party-specific issue in its meeting with the PTI.

He said the government committee wanted a political consensus on Pakistan-specific issues like the Charter of Economy, renewed Charter of Democracy, unified policy to root out terrorism and setting up of limits for political protest.

Originally published in The News