Peshawar: National Assembly Opposition Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai has alleged that imprisoned PTI founder Imran Khan is being pressured to accept a political arrangement resembling those involving former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto.
Achakzai made the allegation at a news conference at the Peshawar High Court on October 16.
The claim does not establish that an agreement has been offered, negotiated or accepted. The reports reviewed provided no independently verified terms of a proposed arrangement or a government response specifically addressing the allegation.
His remarks come amid a widening confrontation between the opposition and the federal government over access to Khan and the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
The opposition alliance Tehreek Tahaffuz Ayin Pakistan (TTAP) announced on October 15 that it was suspending negotiations until a meeting with Khan was arranged and information about his health provided.
The alliance also demanded access for his doctors and the release of detained PTI leaders, including Sohail Afridi, provincial assembly speaker Babar Saleem Swati and Junaid Akbar. It authorised Achakzai to conduct negotiations on its behalf.
Separately, TTAP has challenged the emergency measures in the Peshawar High Court, seeking their reversal and questioning the constitutional basis of the administrative arrangements introduced in the province.
The federal government has defended its intervention on security grounds, citing deteriorating law and order and shortcomings in coordination over counterterrorism efforts.
Achakzai’s allegation concerns a purported political deal. The government’s stated justification for its intervention concerns provincial security; it does not, by itself, confirm or rebut his claim.
