PTI leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi (L) and Yasmin Rashid (R). PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE:
Detained leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have written yet another letter from Kot Lakhpat Jail, calling for political dialogue to steer the country out of a prolonged national crisis, and urging senior political figures to play a facilitative role in initiating talks among political parties.
The letter, authored by five incarcerated PTI leaders, including Dr Yasmin Rashid, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mian Mahmoodur Rashid and Umar Sarfraz Cheema, has been addressed to Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, seeking their assistance in initiating negotiations among political forces.
According to sources, the letter was delivered through the party’s legal counsel Rana Mudassar and is titled “No reconciliation, no resistance, only politics”.
In the letter, the detained leaders state that Pakistan has remained mired in a severe crisis for the past three years and eight months, with no visible progress towards stability.
They write that it is the duty of every patriotic Pakistani to think in the national interest and to pursue objectives through peaceful means.
The authors emphasise that dialogue at every level is the only viable path to pull the country out of the prevailing crisis, reiterating that the same position had also been conveyed in a letter dated July 1.
The letter notes that the PTI founding chairman Imran Khan has entrusted the responsibility of pursuing this course to the leadership of the Tehreek Tahaffuz Aeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), stressing the need for a structured political effort aimed at national consensus.
Calling for a way forward, the detained leaders stress that solutions to the current national crisis must be found through consultation among national political parties, adding that broad-based consultation is, in essence, the gateway to meaningful negotiations.
Expressing hope in the role of senior political figures, the five leaders state that they expect Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas to guide the nation at this critical juncture.
They also acknowledge that other leaders who are making efforts in this regard deserve appreciation, the letter adds.
