The much-awaited talks between the government and the Imran Khan-founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are finally underway in Islamabad after a brief delay.
Meeting at the Parliament House on Monday, both sides are holding the dialogue with “hopes of a positive outcome” in a bid to ease the country’s political tensions.
Although both sides were reluctant earlier to move ahead with the negotiations, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had on Sunday constituted a high-level committee comprising senior members of the coalition government to hold dialogue with the main opposition party.
The committee includes Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Rana Sanaullah, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Naveed Qamar, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Abdul Aleem Khan and Chaudhry Salik Hussain.
But the party is yet to call off its currently postponed civil disobedience movement. The government members have stressed that talks won’t bear fruit if they are done under pressure.
The PTI’s committee for talks so far comprises Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub, former NA speaker Asad Qaiser, PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, Sunni Ittehad Council Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza, senior PTI leader Hamid Khan and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen Allama Raja Nasir Abbas.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, whose party has been agitating for several months now, called the committee’s formation a constructive step and said that meaningful dialogue based on positive intentions should be held.
The in-camera meeting, which was originally scheduled to begin at 11:30am, is facing delays. It will start shortly with NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq in the chair.
‘Legitimate’ demands
The PTI’s protests have rocked Islamabad numerous times this year — two days in July, 30 days in August and September, six days in October, and three days in November — troubling the capital’s residents. They also cost the national exchequer billions.
Due to the protests, there were repeated calls for negotiations, with NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq recently saying that “dialogue is the only way” to move forward, while Gohar noted that “negotiations will take place as they are the only solution”.
In a message on X, PTI said that party founder Khan has warned that the campaign will be launched if the government doesn’t make progress on the party’s “legitimate” demands by Sunday, the same day when the committee was formed.
The party’s founding chairman had demanded the release of under-trial political prisoners and the establishment of a judicial commission for a transparent investigation into the events of May 9 and November 26.
However, Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif has said that time and circumstances brought those to the negotiation table who were unwilling to talk. But he cautioned that seeking sincerity in negotiations will be a “waste of time”.
Opposition ‘unity’
Moreover, sources told priavte news channel that the PTI founder has assigned KP CM’s Adviser on Information Barrister Muhammad Saif the task of uniting opposition parties.
The initiative aims to bring opposition parties together against the government’s undemocratic actions, according to the sources.
Barrister Saif has reportedly contacted several key leaders of opposition parties through telephone, the sources added.
An important meeting of opposition parties is expected to take place this week at the Chief Minister’s House, the insiders said. Additionally, the chief minister is likely to meet Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) leaders Pir Pagara and Zulfiqar Mirza during the same week.
The plan includes taking leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), and other parties into confidence, the sources confirmed.
