The Government has extended a new invitation for negotiations to Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI), with the president of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, emphasizing that the conversations doors had never closed.
Informally speaking to the journalists of the Punjab Assembly, Sadiq clarified that the government has always been open to negotiations with PTI, and added that the committee in charge of handling conversations has not dissolved, Express News reported.
He explained that the ball is in the PTI court to seek the internal approval of the conversations, after which the government would be ready to participate.
Sadiq assured the media that government communication with PTI remains intact.
“We have not cut the ties with PTI, and they are still in contact with us,” he said.
He also recognized PTI’s leadership, particularly Imran Khan, calling him a “hard individual” and recognizing the complexities to interact with the opposition.
Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and former Prime Minister Imran Khan simultaneously put action, but exactly in the opposite directions, since the heading director asked the opposition party to resume conversations through the parliamentary committee , while the former prime minister dissolved his negotiation committee to close the chapter.
The Prime Minister, when heading to the Federal Cabinet, said that the Government was ready to form a parliamentary committee to continue the conversations with the PTI instead of PTI’s demand to constitute a judicial commission each to investigate on May 9, 2023 and on November 26, 2024., Incidents.
“Two are needed for tango. This dialogue should advance so that the country can progress, instead of having more damage due to its violent protests,” said Prime Minister.
The prime minister recalled how former Prime Minister Imran Khan had constituted a parliamentary committee to investigate the 2018 general elections instead of forming a judicial commission, saying that he was also ready to constitute a Chamber Committee to take conversations even after PTI “fled” from conversations before obtaining a formal response on the government’s side.
The offer of Prime Minister Shehbaz has arrived only one day before the expiration of the government’s deadline to dissolve his negotiation committee, which was constituted to hold conversations with PTI. However, in line with the previous position of the leadership of PTI to boycott the conversations until the government announces judicial commissions, the founder of PTI imprisoned finally dissolved his negotiation committee and commissioned its members to work as a coordination committee to involve Parties to make a great opposition alliance.
When reflecting on the recent negotiations, the prime minister said that the Government had accepted PTI’s proposal, formed a committee and began conversations through the president of the National Assembly. The Committee had asked PTI to file its demands in writing and the government agreed to provide a written response. However, said, PTI retired from the meeting scheduled on January 28.
He also said that government representatives had assured PTI a written response and invited them back to the table, but did not come to attend the fourth round of conversations between the two parties.
Meanwhile, the spokesman of the PTI negotiation committee, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, published a statement about X on Thursday, stating that the opposition committee has formally dissolved in line with the instructions of Imran Khan. Raza added that the committee has now become a coordination committee, which will strive to make a great opposition alliance against the ruling alliance.
According to Khan’s vision, he said that the opposition committee did not move an inch of his position: constitution of judicial commissions and sought “support” of federal and provincial governments on bail, suspensions of sentences and absolute “political prisoners” identified “identified” for the PTI, and the exposed government delay tactics. “On the basis of this,” he said, “the Government failed to establish its false narrative.”
The PTI had presented its letter of demands to the government in the third round, saying that these demands were presented as a “prerequisite for broader negotiations” on other issues. However, seven days after the third round, the founder of PTI abruptly canceled the dialogue, with the argument that the Government had not accepted its demands for the commission within a week. A day later, the lawyer Gohar deviated from the statement and said that Imran had put the conversations waiting.
Senator Irfan Siddiqui, the spokesman for the Government’s negotiation committee had wondered why the PTI canceled the conversations without waiting for the government’s response to its demands. He said the opposition could have found “an opening” if it were to the fourth round.
Siddiqui said the opinions were requested from constitutional and legal experts in the PTI demand letter. In addition, he declared that the government had decided to retain its final response for now, and added that its negotiation committee would remain in place until January 31.
Responding to the arrival of Prime Minister during an interview with a private news channel, opposition leader in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub said: “Shehbaz Sharif’s offer is totally rejected.”
He said the opposition had clear intentions and demands, but the government could not meet them.
