First round of PTI, govt talks amid SC efforts to hold elections concludes
Pakistan
Second round to take place on Friday at 3pm
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The first round of the talks between the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government and the PTI concluded on Thursday at the Senate Secretariat, with the second round to be taken place on Friday at 3pm.
Sources said that the PTI stressed dissolving the National Assembly (NA) as PTI Chief Imran Khan wanted the NA to be dissolved no later than July.
PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, talking to the media, said political problems could be addressed with good intentions. "The solution will be sought following the constitutional provisions," he added. The PTI wanted to move forward, he said, with country's progress as the topmost agenda.
He went on to say that the government still needed time to deliberate. "We suggested them to take time and come back with a proposal," he added.
The second round of talks would take place tomorrow (Friday), said Yusuf Raza Gillani. "We would take a final decision after taking all the parties on board," he added. Talks were held, he said, in a good environment.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the meeting would be held at 3pm with more details. "We have to review the matters while remaining in the ambit of the constitution," he added.
"We have no demands," said Mr Dar.
The move comes as the Supreme Court (SC) had urged the political stakeholders to hold talks for the sake of constitution.
The PTI delegation comprised Mr Qureshi, Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry and Senator Ali Zafar while the government side is represented by Mr Dar, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ayaz Sadiq, Mr Gilani, Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, Kishwar Zahra and Muhammad Abubakr.
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Hours ago, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had agreed to start talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on elections today at 6pm.
Sources said Attorney General Mansoor Awan called on the PM and apprised him of the court proceedings. The JUI-F would not become a part of the negotiations, sources told.
Later, federal law minister Azam Nazir Tarar and Senator Ali Zafar also came in contact with each other.
Earlier, Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani had, in a letter written to Leader of the House Ishaq Dar and Leader of Opposition Shehzad Wasim, sought four names each from the government and the opposition in the Senate for constituting a special committee for talks. He wrote that he had been approached by the government and allies to “facilitate the initiation of political dialogue to address the ongoing political and economic crisis including the holding of general elections.
“In this context, the constitution of a committee comprising members of the Senate belonging to both sides of the aisles has been proposed,” he penned.
Mr Sanjarani noted that the Senate was bestowed with the responsibility of “protecting the national and political harmony vis-a-vis the national and public interest”. Therefore, he continued, a 10-member committee was being formed for holding political dialogue under the joint convenorship of Dar and Shahzad. It will comprise four members each from the treasury and opposition benches.
“My office and the Senate Secretariat will remain available to assist/facilitate the committee in the performance of its functions for preserving the political system and for the betterment of the state,” he wrote.
He directed both the opposition and government to nominate the names of their members within two days.
A day ago, PTI Chairman Imran Khan constituted a three-member committee to hold talks with the PDM-led government over the latter’s decision to hold simultaneous elections in the country.
The committee consists of PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, PTI senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry, and Senator Ali Zafar. The move comes as the Supreme Court had ordered the political stakeholders to end political deadlock and submit a report by April 27.
The government, represented by federal law minister Azam Nazir Tarar and railway minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, responded positively and asked Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani to nominate five senators each from the government and the opposition to form a committee.
The government representatives also requested the chairman to provide space in the parliament to hold negotiations.
