Government offers fresh talks to PTI

The government has extended a fresh invitation for negotiations to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), with National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq emphasising that the doors for talks had never been closed. Speaking informally to journalists at the Punjab Assembly, Sadiq clarified that the government has always been open to negotiations with PTI, adding that the committee tasked with handling talks has not been disbanded, Express News reported. He explained that the ball is in PTI's court to seek internal approval for talks, after which the government would be ready to engage. Sadiq reassured the media that the government's communication with PTI remains intact. "We have not severed ties with PTI, and they are still in contact with us," he stated. He also acknowledged the leadership of PTI, particularly Imran Khan, calling him a "tough individual" and acknowledging the complexities in engaging with the opposition. Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and former premier Imran Khan simultaneously swung into action but exactly in the opposite directions as the incumbent chief executive asked the opposition party to resume talks via parliamentary committee while the former premier dissolved its negotiation committee to close the chapter. The prime minister, while addressing the federal cabinet, said that the government was ready to form a parliamentary committee to continue talks with the PTI as opposed to PTI's demand to constitute a judicial commission each to probe May 9, 2023, and November 26, 2024, incidents. "It takes two to tango. This dialogue should move forward so that the country can progress, instead of bearing more harm due to their violent protests," the premier said. The premier recalled how former premier Imran Khan had constituted a parliamentary committee to probe the 2018 general elections instead of forming a judicial commission, saying he was also ready to constitute a house committee to take talks forward even after PTI "fled" from talks before getting a formal response from the government side. PM Shehbaz's offer has come just a day before the expiry of the government's deadline for dissolving its negotiation committee, which was constituted to hold talks with PTI. However, in line with PTI leadership's previous stance of boycotting talks until the government announces judicial commissions, jailed PTI founder finally dissolved its negotiation committee and tasked its members to work as a coordination committee to engage parties for making grand opposition alliance. Reflecting on the recent negotiations, the prime minister noted that the government had accepted PTI's proposal, formed a committee and initiated talks through the National Assembly speaker. The committee had asked PTI to present its demands in writing and the government agreed to provide a written response. However, he said, PTI pulled out of the scheduled meeting on January 28th. He further said that government representatives had assured PTI of a written response and invited them back to the table but they didn't come to attend the fourth round of talks between the two sides. Meanwhile, PTI negotiation committee's spokesperson Sahibzada Hamid Raza posted a statement on X on Thursday, stating that the opposition's committee has formally been dissolved in line with the directions of Imran Khan. Raza added that the committee has now been converted in a coordination committee, which will strive to make a grand opposition alliance against the ruling alliance. Under Khan's vision, he said that the opposition committee didn't budge an inch from its stance – constitution of judicial commissions and sought "support" of the federal and provincial governments in bail, sentence suspensions and acquittals of "political prisoners" identified by the PTI – and exposed government's delaying tactics. "On the basis of it," he said, "the government failed in establishing its false narrative.". The PTI had presented its charter of demands to the government in the third round, saying these demands were presented as a "prerequisite to wider negotiations" on other issues. However, seven days after the third round, the PTI founder abruptly called off the dialogue, on the grounds that the government had not accepted its demands for the commission within a week's time. A day later, Barrister Gohar deviated from the statement and said that Imran had put the talks on hold. Senator Irfan Siddiqui, the spokesperson for the government's negotiation committee had wondered why the PTI called off the talks without waiting for the government's response to its demands. He said that the opposition could have found "an opening" had it come to the fourth round. Siddiqui said that opinions were solicited from constitutional and legal experts on the PTI's charter of demands. He further stated that the government had decided to withhold its final response for now, adding that its negotiations committee would remain in place until January 31. Responding to the premier's reaching out during an interview to a private news channel, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub said: "Shehbaz Sharif's offer totally rejected." He said the opposition had clear intentions and demands but the government could not fulfil them.

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