Adviser to the prime minister, Rana Sanaullah said a joint strategy must be formed to tackle terrorism.

Speaking on Samaa TV programme 'Mere Sawal', he said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister had been taken on board and had met the prime minister. A policy regarding safe havens of terrorists had been settled, he added, and both the government and the military leadership stood united.

Rana Sanaullah said the prime minister had conveyed to Afghanistan that it must choose between terrorists and Pakistan. No further respite would be granted to terrorists, he said. He maintained that PTI founder Imran Khan had declined dialogue. “We want PTI to be engaged politically,” he said, adding that the party’s founder should step back from what he described as an anti-state narrative. A parliamentary committee had been formed for negotiations, but PTI members said in the second meeting that they would not continue.

He said that PTI founder Imran Khan wanted the establishment’s support as in 2018. The government and the establishment had not offered PTI any deal, he said, nor was the establishment prepared for one. No deal would ever be offered to PTI, he added. He said Imran Khan had repeatedly stated that he wished to speak to the establishment, and that after meetings with him, press conferences and tweets would follow.

The prime minister’s adviser said Imran Khan had previously been brought to hospital and would be taken again if required. The government had cooperated regarding his medical treatment. He said that if given two more years, Pakistan would move ahead on both the international and economic fronts. Now was the time to support the government, he said, adding that the country had been steered away from default for a year and a half.

He also clarified that the aircraft in question would remain the property of Punjab and not that of Maryam Nawaz personally.