Dawn
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16:25 Jan 08, 2026
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said on Thursday that negotiations with the federal government would not take place if party founder Imran Khan is not present. Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’, Raja said that the party’s stance on talks is very clear: “You cannot come into our house, attack us, loot us and then invite us for negotiations. “Give us an agenda, tell us what topics will be discussed,” he added. “We cannot negotiate in Imran Khan’s absence. You cannot expect to put him in a black hole while everyone else talks and the PM eats biscuits. It will not happen like that.” Raja continued, recounting that between December 2024 and January 2025, they wanted to meet Imran and have him present at the talks, but that was not authorised. He added that judicial probes into the riots on May 9, 2023, and the PTI’s Islamabad march on November 26, 2024, were also denied. “The plan seems to be an effort to bury the attack on voters on February 8, 2024, and move on from it,” the party official cl...