ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has again changed its tune on the already fragile negotiations with the government, hinting that it could return to the table a day after announcing a deadlock.
In the latest development on Friday, the former ruling party conveyed that it might be open to continuing talks, but only if the government meets its key demands: setting up judicial commissions and releasing political prisoners, including PTI founder Imran Khan. .
The conditional offer comes close on the heels of the PTI’s earlier stance on January 23, when it set a strict deadline for the formation of judicial commissions, only for the party to call off talks after the government failed to act within the given deadline.
PTI president Barrister Gohar had earlier said that the party’s supremo suspended the talks due to the government’s failure to meet the party’s demands.
The beleaguered party’s wavering stance was exposed when it not only refused to attend the upcoming fourth round of talks, scheduled for January 28, but also insisted that discussions could only resume if the government accepted its demands.
Speaking to the media outside Parliament, Gohar initially claimed that the talks had been called off after the government refused to meet the PTI’s demand to set up judicial commissions within seven days.
However, the government rejected it, calling the PTI’s deadline “unfortunate” and clarifying that the initial agreement referred to “seven working days”, meaning that the deadline for a response had not yet ended.
Reversing his earlier statement, Gohar clarified that Imran had merely suspended the talks, not called them off entirely. He quickly added that the PTI could reconsider negotiations with the government if its conditions were met, adding that this would demonstrate the government’s sincerity.
Gohar further noted that the lack of progress exposed the government’s true intentions, questioning what was stopping it from announcing the formation of the commissions now.
The much-needed negotiations between the PML-N and the opposition PTI came to a screeching halt on January 23 after Imran ordered Gohar to cancel talks with the ruling coalition for failing to constitute judicial commissions to probe the May 9 incidents and the November 26 within the stipulated period. time.
Following the PTI’s decision, government negotiation committee spokesperson Senator Irfan Siddiqui said the deadline was not over yet as it was agreed in the last meeting that the government would respond to the PTI’s letter of demands within “seven business days” and not in just seven days.
The spokesman for the government negotiating committee had said that in the third round of talks between the two sides it was decided that the government committee would present its response within seven working days, which he said ends on January 28, the day on which that the president of the National Committee The Assembly has called a meeting of committees at 11:45 am.
Reiterating that the PTI must review its decision, Siddiqui had said that the PTI took 42 days to submit its letter of demands, but demanded the government’s response within a week, wondering why it could not wait just five more days.
He said the government committee was working diligently to prepare its response but the PTI returned with the same enthusiasm with which it came for talks with the ruling alliance, adding that “we ask them to wait for some time” and review the decision.
Currently, the fate of the talks hangs in the balance as the PTI has made it clear that the only way to end the deadlock was to set up the committees it wanted. However, the government maintains that the opposition should have waited for the government’s response before hastily canceling the talks.
Commenting on rumors that the government was not willing to constitute commissions, Siddiqui had said that the PTI committee should have at least heard the government’s written reply in the next meeting as the government side never said that it would not constitute commissions. judicial.
Also, he said, it would have been better if the PTI had given a written statement to end the talks instead of conveying the same to the government through the media.
Following the PTI’s refusal, Siddiqui had said that the government committee would meet and decide on the future course of action on January 28.
Both sides came to the table on December 23, 2024 to discuss long-standing issues and find a way forward. Since then, the committees have met three times. According to the government’s demand, the PTI had submitted its demand letter in the third meeting on January 16 and was awaiting its response.
The talks were aimed at bringing political and economic stability to the country by resolving long-standing issues between the two sides. However, both sides have questioned the deadline and, as a result, the process has come to an abrupt end.
