Divisions emerged within the ruling coalition on Tuesday, as some of the parties comprising the federal government supported the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI)’s attempt to broker dialogue, while others maintained that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan cannot be trusted.
Leaders of the 13 parties comprising the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) met at Prime Minister’s House on Tuesday to deliberate on the prevailing political situation and the JI’s offer to facilitate dialogue between the government and the PTI to reduce the political temperature. According to participants of the meeting, there were clear rifts over whether talks should be held with the opposition party, as several parties maintained that Khan could not be trusted to stand by his word. By contrast, parties supporting dialogue stressed that doors to negotiations cannot be closed.
Per sources, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari led the group supporting dialogue. Apart from him, leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, the Balochistan National Party, Balochistan Awami Party, Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid), and Mohsin Dawar also supported negotiations. During discussions, Bhutto-Zardari maintained that it was “undemocratic” to close the door for talks, adding it went against his party’s principles. “It is the need of the hour that the path of dialogue be adopted and the country taken out of the crisis,” he said.
In contrast, the group led by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) rejected dialogue. Stressing that it was not in the ruling coalition’s interests to hold talks with Khan, it said that the ousted prime minister was not a “political force” that should be catered to through negotiations. Similarly, the Jamhoori Watan Party’s Shahzain Bugti said that while his party did not oppose talks, it did not trust Khan. “Imran is a liar,” he was quoted as saying, adding that the PTI chief was “untrustworthy.”
The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)—which heads the ruling coalition—appears internally divided over the issue. While senior leader Javed Latif has said there is no need for talks with Khan, the party has already formed a two-member committee to conduct dialogue with the PTI at the request of the JI.
The meeting ended without any final decision, however, with officials saying that discussions would continue and a final call on dialogue only emerging after consensus had been evolved.
There have been growing calls for dialogue between all political stakeholders to reduce polarization and establish a set of ground rules ahead of the next general elections. All parties have expressed willingness to participate, but there are clear divisions over what the talks should accomplish. The PTI has repeatedly maintained that it is only willing to sit on a “one-point agenda” of elections, while the parties in government stress that any dialogue needs to be comprehensive and not be bound by any preconditions.