The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday ruled out the perception that the party was seeking a Non-Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) – or amnesty – through talks with the government.
“I want to state it clearly: the PTI is not seeking an NRO through the ongoing negotiations with the government as the cases against PTI founder Imran Khan were ‘open and shut’,” senior party leader Ali Zafar said during a Senate session.
The two sides – who have held two dialogue sessions on December 27, 2024, and January 2, 2025 – are set to meet again on Thursday (tomorrow) in the third round of talks summoned by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq at 11:30am in the Parliament House.
The PTI, which has demanded the release of political prisoners and the formation of a judicial commission for probing the May 9 riots and the November 26 protests, has set the January 31 deadline for the ongoing negotiations to reach a “logical conclusion”.
While the government expressed dismay at the PTI’s failure to submit its demands in writing for several days, party Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan has confirmed that demands will be penned down and hoped for a positive result soon.
In the session, Zafar mentioned: “We are fighting our cases. We will keep fighting them in courts and emerge victorious. As far as talks are concerned, they have no relation to this. Imran Khan sahib has not demanded this.”
Zafar further mentioned that the Hyde Park property in London belonged to Hassan Nawaz, the son of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
He questioned the source of funds for purchasing such an expensive property, asking: “Where did Hassan Nawaz get the money to buy this property?”
The PTI senator pointed out that the property was acquired during Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz’s tenure as prime minister.
He alleged that the PTI founder’s case revolves around £190 million, claimed to be proceeds of crime. However, he emphasised that proving the money as illegitimate requires a court ruling.
“To date, no evidence has been presented to establish that these were proceeds of crime,” he said. Zafar further said: “If this is not proven to be criminal money, then the case ends.”
He highlighted that the UK government had decided the money was not linked to criminal activity, leading to the funds being unfrozen.
He criticised the selective approach in the case, saying: “If there was a crime, the entire cabinet, which made the decision, should have been held accountable.
“Instead, only the founder of PTI and his wife were targeted.” Zafar also clarified that trustees of charitable organisations have no personal claim to the assets of those entities.
The much-awaited verdict in the £190 million reference is set to be announced on January 17, after being delayed three times.
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