If Khan won’t bend, govt is ready to brake!

• Sources say though the govt is dealing softly with PTI for the time being, it is planning to disrupt PTI’s long march once PAT’s long march plan is neutralised successfully
• Terms of reference being finalised by govt to seek guarantees from PTI chief that his protest will remain peaceful while no one is willing to vouch for Khan
• Politicians advise govt not to use force against PTI as it did against PAT as former could gather larger crowds than the latter

Failure to accomplish dialogue, guarantees and safe passage for long march at the federal capital’s D-Chowk have become major irritants in the back-channel contacts between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaderships with the latter planning to somehow keep PTI engaged in talks till the last moment, failing which PTI marchers would be stalled at the capital city’s doorstep, Pakistan Today has learnt reliably.

Well-placed sources engaged with the backchannel contacts between the two sides have informed Pakistan Today that the PTI chief has guaranteed a peaceful long march followed by a dialogue with the government if his party workers are given a safe passage to D-Chowk. However, the government emissaries want a dialogue before the long march and guarantors who could give the assurance that PTI workers would not cross limits by capturing sensitive government installations if allowed into the capital.

A source, seeking anonymity, said that the government and other political forces were working quietly to finalise the terms of reference (ToR) of a ‘secret deal’ to allow PTI Chairman Imran Khan to hold the march in the federal capital. However, Khan would be asked to guarantee a peaceful march to be held at a specific location fixed mutually by the PML-N government and PTI and ensure that no government installation is damaged or overtaken by protestors, paving the way for a formal dialogue to take place between the two sides.

“Khan has given his word to Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq that if the government allows PTI to hold a peaceful rally in the federal capital and no PTI worker is harassed by the administration, the demonstration would remain peaceful and calm and no law and order situation would be created,” the source said.

The source added that PTI leader has told the negotiators that he could not call off his long march as it may jeopardise his political career at this juncture.

GOVT MANEUVERING TO KEEP PTI, PAT APART:

Another source said that the government was successful in implementing its plan to keep PTI at distance from the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and some ‘friends’ in the party had made this happen.

“Though Khan had announced on Friday night that he would attend Youm-e-Shuhda announced by Dr Tahirul Qadri, some government moles in PTI successfully build pressure on Khan and changed his mind. Now the government’s agents in PTI are making sure that PTI and PAT remain divided on long march plans so that no threat is posed to the government,” the source added.

The source added that though the government was dealing with PTI “softly” for the time being, yet it was planning to disrupt PTI’s long march once PAT long march plan was neutralised successfully.

WHO WILL VOUCH FOR KHAN?:

Though the political leaders have advised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to allow PTI to hold a rally in the federal capital, the biggest question the government is asking from the political leaders advocating for a deal with PTI is that who will guarantee peace if Khan gathers more than 200,000 protestors.

“This is a million dollar question and no politician is in a position to give this assurance on behalf of Khan. But since no one is able to give guarantee for Khan, the government is likely to use force to disrupt Khan’s long march once it gets rid of Qadri’s marchers,” the source said.

RECOUNTING IS HAQ’S IDEA:

Moreover, a source involved with the background talks said that neither the PTI leader has demanded recounting of votes in 10 or 40 constituencies nor the government had made any such offer.

“This is actually a formula presented by Sirajul Haq who has advised the government to allow PTI to hold the long march and later the government may offer recounting in 10 National Assembly constituencies. Under the negotiations, the bargaining may go up to 35 or 40 NA constituencies,” the source added.

BETTER NOT USE FORCE:

Furthermore, the source said that the politicians have advised not to use state force against the PTI’s protesters like Qadri as Khan could gather bigger crowds than the preacher and the agitation could spread to other parts of the country which may go out of control anytime.

Another politician involved with the dialogue said that the PPP leadership has conveyed to the prime minister that there was no role of the armed forces behind this unrest. However, he added that the government still looked confused whether or not to accept PTI chief’s demands.

The source added that almost all the political forces were of the view that Dr Qadri was violating the law of land and his ambitions were anti-democracy which could not be accepted. He added that Qadri had refused to accept the supremacy of the constitution and he wanted to amend it through the so-called revolution rather than the parliament.

When contacted, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi confirmed that his party would have direct dialogue with the PML-N government only once its workers were allowed to enter the federal capital to hold a peaceful demonstration.

PML-N LAWMAKERS BANNED FROM MEDIA TALK:

Neither Information Minister Senator Pervez Rashid nor Special Assistant to Prime Minister Irfan Siddiqui responded to the questions raised by Pakistan Today.

A PML-N leader however said that Political Advisor to Prime Minister Dr Asif Kirmani had directed all government lawmakers and ministers not to attend any TV programme or to talk to media until permitted by the premier.