Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has dismissed speculations that the party is in any secret contact with the establishment.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad on Wednesday, he made it clear that any official communication between the PTI and state institutions would not be hidden from the public.

“At present, the PTI has no contact with anyone, including the establishment,” he added.

Barrister Gohar added that the PTI holds no animosity toward any institution and stands firmly with Pakistan, its armed forces, and the state.

However, he stated that “if the government extends one hand in friendship but attacks the party with the other, the situation will not improve.”

Barrister Gohar’s remarks come at a time when the opposition alliance, Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayan-e-Pakistan (TTAP), recently released its charter of demands and announced a “wheel jam and shutdown” protest for February 8.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had extended a message of reconciliation to the PTI on December 23, but the party responded that it would not enter negotiations “from a position of weakness” and is instead focusing on its planned street campaign.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister and PTI leader Sohail Afridi is leading the campaign, touring Punjab and Sindh to mobilise party supporters.

Other opposition parties in the TTAP are also actively seeking public backing for the February 8 protest.

Gohar Ali Khan called February 8 a symbolic day for the PTI, marking the date when the party alleges its mandate was stolen during the 2024 elections.

He pledged that the protest would remain peaceful and urged the public to participate in the shutdown and wheel-jam strikes.

Referring to the notifications of opposition leaders in the Senate and National Assembly, he called them a positive development.

On court cases of PTI leaders, Gohar Ali Khan noted that former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were sentenced in the Al Qadir Trust case on January 17, 2025, but their appeals against the verdict have not yet been fixed for hearing.

He appealed to the judiciary to ensure that justice is served, warning that the delay in the dispensation of justice forced citizens to take matters into their own hands.

He questioned why Bushra Bibi had been punished despite facing no corruption charges and urged the courts to expedite hearings of the PTI founder’s cases.