Not authorized anyone to engage in negotiations with establishment: Imran Khan

Founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, has claimed that he has not authorised anyone to engage in negotiations with the establishment, hours after the Chief Minister (CM) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Ali Amin Gandapur, stated that Imran Khan is willing to negotiate.

The statement posted on Khan's official X (formerly Twitter) account on Thursday read, “I have not authorised anyone to engage in negotiations with the establishment. I have never struck a deal in the past, nor will I entertain one now.”

CM Gandapur, while speaking to a joint general house of the Lahore High Court Bar Association and the Lahore Bar Association on Thursday, claimed, “Imran Khan is ready for dialogue not because he wants power or the prime minister’s chair, but because he dreams of building a proud, independent nation.”

The former prime minister revealed that two years ago, he was offered complete impunity from legal action in exchange for two years of silence. “I rejected it then, and I reject any such notion now,” he said.

He maintained that CM KP Gandapur and senior party leader Azam Swati’s desire for negotiations with the establishment is pointless. “…I have always maintained and reiterated that as a political party, we have no objection to dialogue. The doors to negotiations were never closed. But let me be clear: any talks must be grounded in the supremacy of the Constitution, the rule of law, and the interests of the people—not in any personal arrangement for myself or my wife,” he added.

Regarding the Mines and Minerals Bill 2025, Imran Khan instructed that no further action be taken until Gandapur and KP’s senior political leadership deliver a comprehensive and transparent briefing on the bill.

On meeting with his family and close associates in jail, he said that his sisters and legal counsel have been denied their legal right to meet him for the past month.

“I am not allowed phone calls with my children, and even my personal physician is barred from access. I have now directed the legal committee to file a contempt of court petition without delay against the prison administration,” he said.

Regarding Afghan refugees' repatriation, Imran Khan claimed that a formal resolution must be tabled in the KP Assembly demanding an extension in the repatriation timeline for Afghan refugees.

He called on the federal government to grant KP the authority to engage directly with the Afghan administration, noting that KP has borne the brunt of terrorism and must be allowed to address it proactively.