Coalition sets conditions for talks, says dialogue is only possible without preconditions
ISLAMABAD:
The federal government and its coalition partners on Monday responded to the statement issued by Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ain Pakistan (TTAP), questioning both the viability of its demands and the political intent behind them, while reiterating that dialogue remains possible only if it is meaningful and constitutional.
The opposition alliance, after two days of deliberations in Islamabad, presented its joint statement on Sunday, which contains a series of demands, including an investigation into the February 24 elections, as well as a call for dialogue.
Responding to the opposition’s demands, PML-N’s Federal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said the government is not opposed to dialogue.
Speaking to a private news channel, he recalled that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had earlier collaborated with lawyer Gohar Ali Khan on similar efforts. “The problem with the PTI is that it is divided. One faction wants to dialogue but does not know with whom, another insists on speaking only with the establishment and the majority only seeks anarchy,” he stated.
Similarly, the PPP, a key coalition partner of the federal government, endorsed the idea of dialogue but with caveats.
PPP Secretary Nayyer Bukhari told The Express PAkGazette that dialogue would only be meaningful if confidence-building measures were implemented. “They want to dialogue with other sectors,” he said.
“In the past, dialogue committees were formed, but then they were dissolved by the former president of the party himself, which reflects a deficit of trust,” he said.
JUI-F leader Ziaur Rehman called the TTAP’s demand for an inquiry into the 2024 elections “incomplete”, arguing that any credible inquiry must also include the 2018 elections.
He told The Express PAkGazette that Achakzai had opposed the 2018 elections and protested alongside opposition parties at the time. “Limiting the demand for an electoral investigation only to 2024 makes it a half-hearted demand,” he stated.
He stressed that restoring public trust requires genuinely free and fair elections and a truly independent electoral commission.
Ahmad Bilal Mehboob, president of PILDAT, said the problem now, legally and constitutionally, is that an election cannot be challenged by any method other than an election petition. “Election petitions are already pending before the courts and in approximately half of the cases decisions have been announced,” he said.
