Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has said his successor Imran Khan was the main hurdle in political reconciliation in the country and underscored the ruling PML-N party’s commitment to dialogue and not indulging in  vengeance, according to media reports.

Sharif’s remarks came during a meeting with party senators on Friday evening, where the issue of negotiations with Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) party was extensively discussed. Sharif, the President of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party,  said that Khan, also a former prime minister, himself was not displaying seriousness in the negotiation process, which posed a significant challenge to fruitful discussions. He questioned the feasibility of negotiations when one party involved was not committed to the process. “How can one negotiate when he is not serious?” Nawaz responded to the party lawmakers.

Sharif, 74, referenced past instances where Khan had rejected offers of friendship, indicating a pattern of reluctance to engage in constructive dialogue. “I travelled to Bani Gala (Imran Khan’s house) myself. Our sincerity is considered our weakness,” the former premier stressed.

To underscore the importance of dialogue despite political differences, Nawaz cited the example of his meeting with the late premier Benazir Bhutto, despite facing staunch opposition. Since he did not believe in political vengeance, he and ex-premier Benazir Bhutto had signed the Charter of Democracy, the PML-N president added.

Sharif said he had no political vengeance or grudge against anyone, even those who had attempted to keep him out of power in the past.

“I am not the person who takes political revenge,” Nawaz Sharif said. The PML-N president said that during Khan’s tenure, he was threatened to get his prison cell’s AC removed. However, he said he did not believe in political vengeance.

In fact, the three-time prime minister said that he did not even think about it as Khan is serving his jail sentence now. Khan has repeatedly said he would hold talks with the “real stakeholders” only. Khan has accused the PML-N of stealing his party’s mandate to form the government with the Pakistan Peoples Party.

Pakistan Peoples Party voices concerns

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Peoples Party has said it was not consulted by the ruling PML-N-led government on the upcoming federal budget despite being a coalition partner, according to a media report on Sunday.

The Pakistan government will likely present the budget for the financial year 2024-25 on June 12. The government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, “neither told us anything related to the budget nor took us into confidence,” Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah said. “We don’t know what the PML-N is doing about privatisation policy, taxes, developmental programme,” the report quoted Shah as saying.

After the controversial February 8 general elections marred with massive rigging allegations, the PML-N and PPP formed a coalition government after intense negotiations following a fractured poll verdict. Asserting that the Bilawal Bhutto-led PPP does not know anything about relief, Shah said that he’s unaware whether the government is making the budget or if the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) budget is being imposed.

Underscoring the need for the inclusion of the PPP’s proposals in the budget, he said, “People will ask us what have we done. Will we tell them that we don’t even know about it?”

Shah further said that the party will have to scrutinise politically the decisions to be made about the budget. On Wednesday, Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervaiz Malik said the budget would be tabled on June 12 and added that its schedule was changed due to Prime Minister Sharif’s ongoing visit to China.