Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Barrister Gohar said on Tuesday that the party has decided to play its role in the parliament and stop short of mass protests against rigging in the country.

Speaking to Munizae Jahangir in SpotLight, Gohar said that he meets with Imran Khan in jail every Tuesday and Thursday and has met him twice since the election.

He added that Khan did not give any specific instructions in relation to government formation on Tuesday but the topic has come under discussion on other opportunities.

Gohar said that PTI believes it has the people’s mandate and has gained 180 seats in the National Assembly. He added that the seats have been specified and there Forms-45 have not been disputed.

He went on to say that the figure of 180 does not include reserved seats.

He confirmed 82 out of 92 PTI-backed independents have joined the Sunni Ittehad Council and the remaining will follow suit soon.

Gohar added that since PTI has the majority in the assembly, its mandate should be respected and it should be allowed to form government.

He said that a unity government is only needed if a party does not have a clear mandate which is not the case right now.

The former PTI chairman said that the party cannot sit at the table with MQM, PPP and PMLN since these are the parties which have taken its share of mandate.

On talks with the JUI-F, Gohar said that his party only reached out to the Maulana on a one-point agenda of accurate election results.

He added that MQM had taken away 15 seats in Karachi and two in Hyderabad from the PTI, for which the later had Forms-45.

Deal with Khan?

Regarding specualtion about a deal, Gohar confirmed that Imran Khan has been offered respite if he steps away from politics.

However, he said that the option of levaing the country had not been given to him.

He added that the specualtion of the deal had originally been confirmed by Bushra Begum during an interaction with reporters in court.

Gohar went on to say that the party was concerned over Bushra Begum’s health and a petition has already been filed in the High Court regarding the matter.

He also said that the former first lady has no connection with the Toshakhana case and was sentenced to ‘blackmail’ Imran Khan

Independents

Regarding Aon Abbas Bappi’s comments in the Senate, Gohar said that the PTI leader has spoken about ethical concerns around other parties trying to ask PTI-backed independents to join them.

He said PTI members have joined the SIC as a protective measures so they would not be pulled into other parties.

Gohar also expressed confidence that the independent candidates would not join other parties as they were committed and had stuck with the party through a tough time.

He said that the general public does not view the candidates who chane loyalties favourably.

How will PTI protest?

Gohar said that there had been many injustices committed against the party before and after elections. However, the party has decided to sit in the parliament and play its role.

He added that the protests against rigging will continue to take place and the party would join hands with smaller parties for the purpose.

He clarified that mass protests were not under consideration yet.