'PPP to play its role if Imran Khan is ready to talk'

• If Khan is ready to talk then that's a positive thing: Khurshid Shah.
• He says President Zardari has always tried to solve issues via talks.
• It's good if PTI founder feels that politicians need to sit together.

Senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Khurshid Shah has said that the Bilawal Bhutto-led party would play its role if Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan is ready to talk.

"It is being said that the PTI founder is ready to talk. If [Imran] Khan is ready to talk then that's a positive thing. President Asif Ali Zardari has always tried to solve the problems through negotiations [and] the PPP would play its role if needed [in this regard]" Shah said while speaking to media in Quetta.

The politico's remarks come as the Khan-founded party has time again taken a hard-line stance against the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led government which is supported by the PPP, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and others.

The Khan-founded party ever since his ouster via a vote of no confidence in 2022 has continued its volley against the PPP-PML-N alliance. The political polarisation was further exacerbated after the February 8 polls which saw the the two parties joining hands once again and reaching a power-sharing agreement to form a government in the Centre.

Amid calls from various sections of society and political parties for reconciliation amid heightened political instability, the party has previously turned down negotiations with the "Form-47 government" — a reference to alleged manipulation of election results — and instead has expressed its willingness to engage with the military establishment instead.

In April, PTI stalwart Shehryar Afridi, while speaking on the Geo News' programme "Naya Pakistan" said that the former ruling party would prefer to hold "dialogues with the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and the Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (DG ISI) soon" instead of the "rejected rulers".

He also alleged that the incumbent rulers were a bunch of "rejected people" who were being "controlled through remote" and reached parliament via "Form 47".

The following month, the party's Secretary General and National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub revealed that Khan had in fact assigned "important responsibility” to former president Dr Arif Alvi".

Commenting on Ayub's comments, Alvi said that "those having real powers" should initiate the dialogue process.

However, last month, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar said that the party founder had given his nod for holding talks with the government.

On Saturday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur called on "state institutions" to become "neutral" to allow the country to move forward.

Gandapur's statement echoed with PTI founder's message, as conveyed by his sister Aleema Khan, who while speaking outside Adiala jail after meeting ex-PM said: "We can only request you that for the country’s sake you become neutral. You stay neutral and let the country move forward and make progress on its own."

Meanwhile, the government too has called on the Khan-founded party to come to the table and hold talks.

A day earlier, addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Federal Minister for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik said: "If you want to remove us then do it. You don't want to resolve issues but to further complicate them. You should do talks instead of destroying everything."

Continuing on the prospects of talks, Shah said that it's a good thing if Khan feels and accepts that politicians need to sit together.