Despite opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Aain-e-Pakistan (TTAP) expressing willingness to engage in dialogue with the government, confusion persists over the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s role in the process, potentially hampering the process.
On Wednesday, a meeting of opposition leaders—including the PTI’s Asad Qaiser—resolved to hold talks with the government following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterating his offer for the same. According to the TTAP, the talks would center on a new charter of democracy, the conduct of transparent elections in future, appointment of a new chief election commissioner, supremacy of Parliament, rule of law, human rights, and democratic and constitutional norms.
Local media has said the TTAP agreed to pursue this path after discussions with incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan, who had previously declared that anyone participating in dialogue with the government was “betraying” her brother.
Yet, despite the progress toward dialogue, government lawmakers maintain they lack confidence in Khan’s willingness to accept the results of negotiations, pointing to previous talks that went nowhere due to Khan’s refusal to accept them. The TTAP, however, rebuts this, noting that its chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai had promised on the floor of the National Assembly that he would ensure Khan was onboard if all political parties agreed to restore the 1973 Constitution to its original form.
The PTI has also expressed conflicting views, with PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqqas Akram initially claiming the party would not participate in any talks before stating that it would support the TTAP’s efforts. Several PTI leaders, in recent days, have also claimed the country is ready for “street agitation,” noting Khan has urged them to stage mass protests. In this regard, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has initiated a campaign to secure support, and would spend three days in Lahore (Dec. 26-28) in a bid to unite the party’s fractured Punjab cohort.
Separately, a “National Dialogue Committee” led by former PTI leader Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has ramped up efforts to facilitate talks between the government and the opposition, writing to the prime minister with a parole request for five senior PTI leaders incarcerated at Kot Lakhpat Jail. He claims this would facilitate their participation in the talks, adding Khan would be inclined to listen to their advice.
For now, it is up to the government on how to proceed with talks following the TTAP expressing its willingness to engage—without any precondition of Khan’s release, a stumbling block in previous dialogue attempts. Sources indicated the government would respond to the TTAP next week, likely after the commencement of the new year.