PTI not ashamed of maintaining contacts with establishment, says Junaid Akbar

• Akbar says PTI has "direct, indirect contacts" with establishment.
• Clarifies they "are not in conflict with any institution".
• "KP's precarious peace situation linked to foreign policy."
  

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter's President Junaid Akbar on Thursday admitted that his party has direct and indirect contacts with the establishment and "we are not ashamed of it because they are our institutions".

"We are not in conflict with any institution," said Akbar while addressing the media outside Rawalpindi's Adiala jail, where PTI founder Imran Khan has been jailed since August 2023. "All of them should stay within their constitutional limits."

He urged that the gap between the people and the institutions should not widen.

The politician stated that the former ruling party was not being permitted to conduct political activities, and their workers were being arrested and booked in multiple FIRs.

He maintained that his party would not be intimidated by such tactics.

To a question, Akbar said that he would not exclude the KP government from responsibility for deteriorating law and order in the province. 

However, the situation was precarious due to the country's foreign policy, especially its Afghanistan policy, he claimed.

Both Gandapur and Gohar have previously engaged in backchannel discussions and are now reportedly making renewed efforts to establish communication with the powers that be, The News reported quoting sources.

However, within the PTI, there is growing recognition that this dual approach of seeking dialogue while attacking the establishment cannot work.

Attempts have been made to persuade Khan to soften the party's tone against the establishment on social media, but he has not done so. Many senior PTI leaders disagree with this confrontational strategy but feel powerless to change it.

"We cannot expect any relief while continuously attacking those from whom we seek it," a senior PTI leader admitted on condition of anonymity.

The military, for its part, has maintained that it will not engage in political discussions and insists that political parties should resolve their issues through dialogue among themselves. The army chief recently dismissed reports of receiving a letter from Khan, stating that even if such a letter arrived, he would forward it to the prime minister rather than read it.

His remarks came after Khan, who has been imprisoned since August 2023 on multiple charges ranging from corruption to terrorism, wrote his third open letter to the COAS.

The former ruling party is also formulating a strategy to organise peaceful protests and public rallies in the country and expedited efforts to form a grand opposition alliance ahead of a powerful anti-government movement.