Opp leaders told to take off socks, rings before meeting Imran Khan

Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza has revealed that he among other opposition leaders, including those belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), were told to take off their socks and rings before meeting former prime minister (PM) Imran Khan in jail.

Appearing on ARY News programme ‘Off The Record’, Raza was asked if PM Shehbaz Sharif’s political aide Rana Sanaullah advised opposition leaders to take notes of the meeting with Khan in jail.

Host Kashif Abbasi’s question was in reference to the ongoing negotiations between the government and opposition, and PTI leaders’ repeated statements regarding Khan being the “only decision-making authority” for the party when it came to talks with the government.

Responding to the question, the SIC chief asked how could they have taken notes when they weren’t even allowed to carry a paper or pencil with them.

Talking about the strict security measures at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, Raza claimed that security had even told them to take off their socks and rings before meeting the incarcerated PTI founder. It happened rather often, he added.

“Security checks we go through after meeting Imran Khan are even stricter,” Raza said, sharing how all meetings with the jailed former premier were held in a “highly controlled environment”.

The SIC chief’s statements come after the government’s negotiation committee, during the second round of government-PTI talks on Thursday, advised opposition leaders to submit their demands in writing.

“The talks concluded with all participants deciding to sit together for the betterment of Pakistan [and] to talk about issues such as economy and terrorism among other things,” National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, who chaired the meeting, told reporters in Islamabad.

Earlier, Rana Sanaullah had also hinted at government tabling certain demands during the talks, however, Raza said that it did not happen.

“They [government members] did not demand anything. In fact, despite us presenting them with hard facts, members of the government’s negotiation committee behaved well. No heated debates erupted during the meeting,” he said.

During the show, Raza also expressed hope that Khan would be released very soon.

While the country eagerly waits for outcome of the currently ongoing negotiations, government members have rubbished claims of backchannel talks between the PTI, government or state institutions.

The statements from government members come amid reports of a “separate negotiation channel” being established to bypass official talks between government and PTI’s negotiating committees.