National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Monday convened for Jan. 2 an in-camera meeting between committees representing the government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The meeting will take place at Parliament House at 11 a.m. In a previous meeting held on Dec. 23, the PTI had agreed to submit a formal list of demands to advance negotiations. Reportedly, the PTI has finalized two key demands: release of all political prisoners (including Imran Khan) and judicial inquiries into the May 9, 2023 riots and the crackdown on the party in Islamabad on Nov. 26.
The government, meanwhile, has said it will not take any demands into the meeting.
Participants from both sides have described the first round of talks as positive, stressing that dialogue must continue to achieve political stability. Of the seven-member team designated by Khan to negotiate on the PTI’s behalf, only PTI leader Asad Qaiser; Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza; and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas had attended the meeting. According to Qaiser, all members of the PTI team would attend the Jan. 2 meeting, including Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub; PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja; Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur; and senior PTI leader Hamid Khan.
From the government side, seven of the nine-member committee had attended the meeting. While PMLQ leader Chaudhry Salik Hussain and Balochistan Awami Party’s Sardar Khalid Magsi were not in attendance, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar; P.M.’s political aide Rana Sanaullah; Senator Irfan Siddiqui; PPP’s Raja Parvez Ashraf and Naveed Qamar; Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party’s Aleem Khan; and MQMP leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui participated.
Sadiq has praised the leadership of both the government and opposition for creating a constructive environment. He has expressed hope that these efforts would lead to greater political stability and a resolution of Pakistan’s challenges. However, uncertainty persists, with Defense Minister Khawaja Asif maintaining he has little optimism about a positive outcome.
While the government has shied from seeking any cut-off point for the talks, SIC’s Raza told media after meeting Khan earlier this month that the PTI wanted a resolution by Jan. 31.