PTI, govt to iron out knotty issues in final round of talks on Tuesday
Pakistan
Both sides leave with positive notes
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – As the second round of talks between the ruling coalition and the PTI concluded with hopes of a thaw on Friday, the third and final round would take place on Tuesday at 11am.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said talks proceeded in a good environment. "We will put forward two suggestions placed by the PTI before the allies," he added. We saw improvement, he said, and no deadlock on both sides.
PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, speaking to the media after the meeting, said the meeting incepted with the mention of arrests of PTI activits. "We will travel to Lahore tomorrow and will take Mr Khan into confidence," he added.
PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said they had placed their suggestions before the government. "However, it is to be noted that 33 PTI activists at PTI chief Imran Khan's appearance before the IHC were arrested without any pliable reason," he added.
He went on to say that arrests would sabotage the process of negotiations. "If you want matters to settle, arrests must be stopped," he added. PTI leader Farrukh Habib, he said, was barred from travelling abroad.
Earlier, sources had said the government did not seem to be agreeing to the PTI's demand of holding election in May as it was not possible to do so under tight economic conditions. "The government also cited its negotiations with the IMF," sources added.
Upon this, the PTI suggested the government to dissolve the National Assembly soon after presenting the budget, sources said. "It also suggested to announce the date of dissolution before presenting the budget," sources added.
However, if the PTI showed flexibility, the government could go for elections in August, sources told.
The PTI, on the other hand, hinted at agreeing to the demand of holding elections in August saying it felt flexibility in the government's approach towards the matter, sources told.
The PTI put three conditions before the government; dissolve the National Assembly (NA) and other provincial assemblies, amend the constitution to hold general elections simultaneously in the country that required the NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to take back the PTI MNA's resignations, and hold general elections in July, sources said.
Mr Khan, at an informal conversation with journalists during his appearance at the IHC, had said his party would initiate talks with the government only if the ruling coalition was ready to immediately dissolve the assemblies and go for elections.
Negotiations come as the top court had recommended both sides to engage in dialogue to develop consensus besides warning the government that its order for holding polls on May 14 was effective if both sides failed to reach an agreement.
Fawad Chaudhry hoped to see "negotiations moving ahead" today.
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) April 28, 2023
First Round of Talks
The first round of talks was held at the Senate Secretariat where Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhry and Ali Zafar represented the PTI while the government side was represented by Mr Dar, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ayaz Sadiq, Mr Gilani, Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, Kishwar Zahra and Muhammad Abubakr.
Sources said the PTI stressed dissolution of the National Assembly (NA) as the PTI wanted the NA to be dissolved no later than July.
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PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, while speaking to the media, said political problems could be addressed with good intentions. "The solution will be sought by following the constitutional provisions," he added. The PTI wanted to move forward, he said, with country's progress as the topmost agenda.
He went on to say that the government still needed time to deliberate. "We suggested them to take time and come back with a proposal," he added.
Mr Gilani said, "We would take a final decision after taking all the parties on board," adding that talks were held, he said, in a good environment.
"We have to review the matters while remaining in the ambit of the constitution," he added. "We have no demands," said Mr Dar.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had agreed to start talks with the PTI on Thursday.
Sources said Attorney General Mansoor Awan called on the PM and apprised him of the court proceedings. The JUI-F would not become a part of the negotiations, sources added.
Later, federal law minister Azam Nazir Tarar and Senator Ali Zafar had also come in contact with each other.
Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani Seeks Committee For Talks
Earlier, Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani had, in a letter written to Leader of the House Ishaq Dar and Leader of Opposition Shehzad Wasim, sought four names each from the government and the opposition in the Senate for constituting a special committee for talks. He wrote that he had been approached by the government and allies to “facilitate the initiation of political dialogue to address the ongoing political and economic crisis including the holding of general elections.
“In this context, the constitution of a committee comprising members of the Senate belonging to both sides of the aisles has been proposed,” he penned.
Mr Sanjarani noted that the Senate was bestowed with the responsibility of “protecting the national and political harmony vis-a-vis the national and public interest”. Therefore, he continued, a 10-member committee was being formed for holding political dialogue under the joint convenorship of Dar and Shahzad. It will comprise four members each from the treasury and opposition benches.
“My office and the Senate Secretariat will remain available to assist/facilitate the committee in the performance of its functions for preserving the political system and for the betterment of the state,” he wrote.
He directed both the opposition and government to nominate the names of their members within two days.
Imran Khan Names Three Members For Negotiations
A day ago, PTI Chairman Imran Khan constituted a three-member committee to hold talks with the PDM-led government over the latter’s decision to hold simultaneous elections in the country.
The committee consists of PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, PTI senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry, and Senator Ali Zafar. The move comes as the Supreme Court had ordered the political stakeholders to end political deadlock and submit a report by April 27.
The government, represented by federal law minister Azam Nazir Tarar and railway minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, responded positively and asked Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani to nominate five senators each from the government and the opposition to form a committee.
The government representatives also requested the chairman to provide space in the parliament to hold negotiations.
