The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday sought more time from the government to submit a formal list of its demands, as the second round of talks between the two sides ended with much bonhomie but little progress.
Held at Parliament House and chaired by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, the second round of negotiations occurred in the evening after a delay sought by the PTI. The PTI delegation comprised Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub, former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser, Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Adviser to the P.M. Rana Sanaullah, PMLN Senator Irfan Siddiqui, PPP leaders Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Naveed Qamar, MQMP’s Farooq Sattar, IPP’s Privatization Minister Abdul Aleem Khan, Balochistan Awami Party’s Khalid Hussain Magsi and PMLZ’s Ijazul Haq represented the ruling coalition in the meeting.
In the first meeting between the PTI and the government last month, the ruling coalition had asked the opposition party to submit a formal, written list of demands for further negotiations. The PTI had agreed to do so, and sought a meeting with Imran Khan to complete deliberations. Despite the meeting, the PTI failed to submit any written demands in the second round, instead seeking another meeting with Khan for further instructions.
Official statement
According to an official statement issued after the meeting, the opposition’s team had expressed their points of view about the ongoing talks and the prevailing political situation. They had once more, verbally, demanded the release of Imran Khan and other PTI workers and leaders. “The government should not stand in the way of obtaining bails,” they were quoted as saying.
The PTI also reiterated its demand for judicial probes into the May 9, 2023 riots and the Nov. 26 crackdown on the party in Islamabad. The statement said the PTI had also sought additional meetings with Khan to seek his guidance on the party’s charter of demands from the government.
The PTI committee, read the statement, maintained that Khan had given permission to begin talks and his instructions were essential to advance the process. The PTI had then sought a deferral of talks until next week, claiming it would submit a formal charter of demands at that point.
During the meeting, Dar said the government had expected the PTI to submit its demands, as was ealier committed, to advance the process. However, he said, the government had no objection to the delay. He said the PTI committee could meet Khan and finalize its charter of demands to ensure progress in talks.
The statement said it was decided to resume talks next week after the PTI had met Khan. It did not give any date for when the next round would occur.
During the meeting, Speaker Sadiq praised the positive and cordial atmosphere of the meeting. He hoped all parties involved would continue the discussions in a constructive manner. Highlighting his role as a facilitator, he suggested that the two committees also discuss Pakistan’s pressing issues, including terrorism and the economy. “We are all Pakistanis and it is our collective responsibility to resolve the nation’s problems,” he said, underlining the need for cooperation to find solutions to prevailing challenges. “We must all play our part in solving these issues,” he reiterated.
In a subsequent interaction with press, PMLN Senator Siddiqui said the talks were held in a positive atmosphere. However, he said, the government could not give any response to the PTI’s demands until the party submitted them before the committee in writing.
Delaying tactics
Reportedly, the PTI’s delaying tactics for a process it has sought are linked to the party wanting to gauge the government’s sincerity to the dialogue process. It also wants to see whether Khan will be convicted in the Al-Qadir Trust case, whose judgment is also due next week.
The delay also pushes any potential resolution closer to the deadline imposed by the PTI itself. Last month, Khan told media he was giving the government until Jan. 31 to reach consensus on his party’s demands. He warned that the PTI would formally launch a civil disobedience movement if there were no progress in talks beyond this point.