F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: A meeting between the government and major opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) negotiation committees was scheduled for January 2, with National Assembly speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq set to preside over. The meeting, slated to take place at 11:30am, will see the PTI negotiation committee presenting the list of demands.
Notices for the session have been issued to all members of the negotiation committees, signaling the latest step in the ongoing dialogue process. It is to be recalled that following a meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan at Adiala Jail, Barrister Gohar had informally briefed the media at the jail gate, stating that the PTI chairman had been updated on the ongoing negotiations and instructed that the process be concluded within a defined time-frame.
PTI chairman highlighted the need for swift progress, adding that the initial meeting of the negotiation committees was informal and preliminary, with some members absent. He noted that in the next round of talks, the PTI committee would present its demands to the government representatives.
Barrister Gohar also mentioned that efforts were underway for the PTI negotiation committee to hold another meeting with the party chairman before the next session. He expressed positivity about achieving substantial outcomes through the discussion.
From the government’s side, a nine-member committee comprising Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, PM’s political aide Rana Sanaullah, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, PPP’s Raja Parvez Ashraf, Naveed Qamar, Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) leader Aleem Khan, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader and Religious Affairs Minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Balochistan Awami Party’s Sardar Khalid Magsi and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui —will attend the second round of talks with the PTI.
The long-anticipated talks between the rival parties began on December 23 during which it was decided that the former ruling party would present its demands in writing during the next round of talks. The much-hyped meeting was held with the NA speaker in the chair during which both sides resolved to continue dialogue process.
Addressing a presser following the meeting, the NA speaker said that the PTI would present a charter of their demands in the next session. Sadiq had thanked the government’s leadership and senior leaders of the opposition for holding the talks in a positive environment.
“We discussed things about past and present and I hope that if we work together for the country’s betterment, it will strengthen the political stability, strengthen democracy and help in dealing with challenges faced by Pakistan,” he had added. We want to bring betterment in Pakistan and end the political polarisation in and outside the parliament.”
