The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Thursday announced staging “peaceful protests” across the country after rebutting reports of forming an alliance with the Pakistan Peoples Party in the Centre and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-Parliamentarians (PTI-P) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The announcements came after sources-based reports of PTI founder Imran Khan softening his stance against political rivals and consenting to hold talks with the PPP and the party’s breakaway faction led by Parvez Khattak. However, PTI leader Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif denied the reports of contacting PPP for government formation. Speaking to journalists, the lawyer said that the PTI founder had “strictly” advised against holding talks with PPP and PML-N. “Reports of [PTI] forming government with PPP are misleading. The PTI founder said to sit in opposition but not to forge alliance with PPP and PML-N,” he added. Later, while talking to journalists after meeting with Khan in Rawalpindi, Barrister Gohar Khan and Sher Afzal Marwat also ruled out a coalition with the Bilawal-led party. “We informed Khan sahib about PPP’s messages. In response, Khan sahib flatly rejected the idea of power-sharing with either the PPP or the PML-N,” Marwat told journalists. Moreover, Gohar categorically rejecting media reports claiming a proposed political alliance between PTI and PTI-P in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa “We are not moving forward accompanied by the PTI-P.” The PTI leader invited those political parties who believe that the recent elections were rigged — including Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), and others. As Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the party having second largest majority in the National Assembly, allies with other political parties including PPP to form a coalition government in the Centre, PTI claimed that it had sufficient numbers in the parliament to elect its prime minister. In a recent development, the party also nominated its general secretary Omar Ayub as its candidate for the post of the country’s prime minister. Meanwhile, Khan also nominated Mian Aslam as the PTI’s nominee for Punjab chief minister and Salar Khan for Balochistan’s top office. Reiterating the claims of winning the most National Assembly seats in the 2024 polls, the Imran-founded party said it has secured 180 NA seats. “We have secured 180 seats,” former PTI chairman Gohar said, adding that his party would only accept the results complied in line with the Form 45s.
PTI announces countrywide peaceful protest on Saturday
