ISLAMABAD, Jan 31: The leadership of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has rejected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s proposal to revive stalled discussions with the government through a parliamentary committee aimed at easing the political atmosphere in the country.
During a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Shehbaz stated that the government is prepared to establish a parliamentary committee to progress talks with PTI after the party founded by Imran Khan ceased negotiations due to the non-establishment of a judicial commission to investigate the incidents of May 9, 2023, and November 26, 2024, as reported by Geo News.
This offer followed PTI’s sudden withdrawal from discussions after three meetings with the ruling coalition’s negotiating committee, where they asserted that the government did not form judicial commissions within the specified seven-day timeframe according to their “charter of demands”.
On the Geo News program Capital Talk, PTI’s prominent leader and Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub Khan stated: “We decline Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s invitation [to resume dialogue]”.
Reiterating the party’s conditions, Ayub noted that PTI had earnestly formed a negotiating committee to engage with the government. “Our demands were precise,” he emphasized, urging for the release of all PTI’s “political prisoners”.
In a statement, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, spokesperson for the government’s negotiation committee, critiqued PTI for its undemocratic and non-political approach by unilaterally pulling out of discussions.
“PTI forfeited a valuable opportunity to meet their demands,” he remarked.
While acknowledging that the opposition party “missed this chance”, Siddiqui urged them to take advantage of the PM’s recent offer.
Criticizing PTI for its confrontational political strategies, the PML-N senator mentioned that the opposition has not succeeded in achieving its goals through sit-ins and long marches in the past, nor will it this time.
Highlighting the necessity for dialogue to alleviate political strife, Siddiqui asserted that the resolution to every challenge lies in sincere and constructive negotiations.
“The sooner PTI recognizes this, the more beneficial it will be for them,” he concluded.
The previously anticipated negotiations between the government and Imran Khan’s PTI faced a setback last week when the opposition exited discussions following directives from their incarcerated leader.
Moreover, the opposition did not attend the planned fourth round of meetings on Tuesday, stating that the decision to withdraw from talks could only be reconsidered after the establishment of judicial commissions to investigate the events of May 9, 2023, and November 26, 2024, along with the release of “political prisoners”. (PTI)
