System to realise soon it can't move forward without PTI, claims Salman Akram

• PTI ready to move forward as per Constitution: Salman Raja.
• Raja believes presence of PTI providing stability to country.
• Sit-ins, petrol bombs PTI’s area of specialisation: Irfan Siddiqui.

After shutting the doors on negotiations with the government, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja on Friday claimed the “system” would realise soon it could not move forward by ignoring the Imran Khan-founded party.

His remarks came a day after the PTI rejected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s offer to resume the stalled talks with the ruling coalition, a move that triggered speculation regarding political instability in the days to come.

PTI is apparently shifting to “agitation mode”, as PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter President Junaid Akbar, earlier this week, said that the party had multiple options, including staging protests at the district level against alleged rigging during last year's general elections and a demonstration at Islamabad’s D-Chowk.  

He was of the view that the opposition party's desire to hold dialogue with the government was misconstrued as its weakness. Akbar had elaborated that PTI’s “homoeopathic leadership” would be sidelined after reorganisation and “hardliners” would be appointed to key positions.

Speaking on a local TV show today, the PTI leader said his party was ready to move forward according to the Constitution and law.

“We realise that we are Pakistan’s largest political party. We want to bring stability to the country and we believe the presence of PTI is providing stability to the country.”

“If you shrink the PTI, that is not possible, then extremist elements will be strengthened. We believe that the system will soon realise that moving forward is not possible without us,” he added.

Responding to a question, he said neither the party was holding backdoor talks nor such contacts were needed.

Meanwhile, During Geo News programme "Naya Pakistan", PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui, who is also a spokesperson for the government negotiation team, said that the PTI had already made the decision about quitting the dialogue process on January 23, adding that the former ruling party did not wait for even their own deadline.

Contrary to the government, the former ruling party did not show flexibility in their demands, alleged Siddiqui.

Taking a dig at the former ruling party, the PML-N senator said: “They entered the dialogue process mistakenly as it is not their area of expertise.”         

“Their area of ​​specialisation is blocking roads, carrying out attacks, staging sit-ins, and bringing petrol bombs,” he added.

Referring to the expected protests by the former ruling party, the PML-N senator said: “The state will protect its citizens if they [PTI] attack.”

Moving on to the controversial amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, the senator admitted that the government passed the legislation in “haste”.      

However, he added: “The PECA issue is not something that cannot be fixed.”