The first meeting between committees representing the government and the opposition PTI has begun today (Monday), kicking off long-anticipated talks between the rival parties to defuse prevailing political tensions.
Earlier this month, former premier and PTI founder Imran Khan announced his party’s committee for talks with “anyone”.
Subsequently, following the recommendation of NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif yesterday formed a committee comprising ruling coalition members.
Today’s meeting is being chaired by the NA speaker. Of the nine members of the government committee, seven attending the talks include all three PML-N leaders — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, PM’s political aide Rana Sanaullah, and Senator Irfan Siddiqui.
Others present are PPP’s Raja Parvez Ashraf and Naveed Qamar, MQM-P leader Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, and Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) leader and Privatisation Minister Aleem Khan.
PML-Q leader and Religious Affairs Minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain and Balochistan Awami Party’s Sardar Khalid Magsi, who were named as part of the committee, were not in attendance.
Meanwhile, on the PTI’s side, three opposition lawmakers attended the meeting — namely PTI MNA Asad Qaiser, Sunni Ittehad Council Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza, and Senator Raja Nasir Abbas of the Majlis Wehdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM).
The PTI’s committee formed earlier this month also included Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja.
Prior to today’s meeting, the government committee met with Sadiq.
Interestingly, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, who has remained a permanent feature in past government committees for political dialogues, is not part of the group this time.
The body is tasked with a two-point agenda: the release of PTI’s workers and supporters from prisons and judicial inquiry into the events of the May 9 riots and the November 24 protest.
Since Imran’s incarceration last year based on several cases, his party’s relationship with the government, as well as the establishment, has turned exceedingly sour. The PTI has held several protests over the last year, most of which escalated into violence after facing state repression.
Following the PTI’s ‘Final Call’ power show last month, tensions escalated as there were renewed calls to ban the party and task forces formed against an alleged “malicious campaign” as the PTI claimed a dozen deaths of its supporters, which the government officially denies.
However, after Imran formed a five-member committee to hold talks with “anyone” and his lawmakers had a softened stance in the parliament, the government, following the recommendation by NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, constituted its own committee comprising ruling coalition members.
Separately, Imran has assigned the responsibility of uniting opposition parties to Barrister Saif, according to sources. The jailed PTI founder directed Saif to expedite negotiations with opposition leaders and unite them under the leadership of CM Gandapur.
More to follow
