PTI chief says won’t sit with PDM govt leaders but his team may hold dialogue only on conducing elections n Ex-PM says ‘he will not sit with those whom he had been calling thieves and corrupt’ n Accuses Nawaz of ‘dividing judiciary’ n Tasks party leaders to muster support for judiciary.

LAHORE    -    In an apparent deviation from his previous statement that he was ready to talk to anybody to steer the country out of the current polit­ical crisis, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Sunday took a somersault saying he would not sit with the government to nego­tiate, but his team may take part in the talks on the one-point agenda of holding elections.

In an interview with a foreign tele­vision, Imran Khan reiterated his ear­lier stance he will not sit with those whom he had been calling thieves and corrupt. The PTI chief also made it clear that the negotiations would be held only on the one-point agenda of holding elections and they would be of no use if they [talks] don’t lead the country towards elections.

He said that he was not in contact with anybody (decision makers) but was ready to discuss the constitution­al matter of elections with all stake­holders. He said other members of his party will hold talks on his be­half. Imran Khan termed the holding of elections within 90 days as the top most problem of the country at the moment. And if the elections are not held within the constitutional period, the chances of their being held in Oc­tober are also bleak, he remarked. 

Commenting on the government’s stance over the Supreme Court’s hearing on elections date, Imran Khan said disobeying the court deci­sion meant the end of the Constitution and law in the country. Lashing out at the PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif, the PTI chief said that it was an old practice of the PML-N leader to divide the Supreme Court for his personal gains. He added that the entire na­tion was standing firm with the Supreme Court. Mean­while, PTI leaders from Sindh Haleem Adil Sheikh and Sindh’s former governor Imran Ismail had a meeting with Imran Khan at his res­idence here. The PTI chief gave them task to contact the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), other like-minded parties and the civil society in Sindh to muster support for the Supreme Court. He asked the two leaders to hold a follow up meeting with GDA leaders after Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s initial contact with them. PTI’s Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and party president Ch Parvez Elahi are already in Kara­chi having meetings with the GDA and the MQM leaders.