Demand of access to Imran Khan caused deadlock in talks, says Asad Qaiser

He said the opposition was even willing to withdraw all its other demands if the government allowed political leaders to meet and consult the PTI founder., the government maintained that the issue of access to Imran Khan could not be included in the agreement at this stage and was not under consideration.

He said this position led to a deadlock between the two sides. Qaiser questioned how the opposition could formulate political policy without consulting its leader.

He said political parties normally consult their leadership on important decisions, citing the examples of PML-N leaders consulting Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while the PPP consults Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari.

He argued that Imran Khan remained the PTI's central political leader despite being in prison and that the party wanted to seek his views before taking major decisions. Qaiser also rejected attempts to link the opposition's demand for access to Imran Khan with the issue of terrorism, saying the two matters should be treated separately.

He said meetings with Imran Khan and consultation with him had remained among the key issues discussed during the recent negotiations between the government and opposition. The negotiations ended without a breakthrough as the two sides failed to agree on several political and security-related issues.

Both sides have since presented different accounts of the reasons behind the deadlock.