Pakistan’s federal government offers talks to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

Islamabad: The National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq emphasized that the possibility of negotiations had never been abandoned, and Pakistan’s federal government once again issued a discussion offer to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), according to Dawn.

Speaking to reporters in the Punjab Assembly on Friday, Sadiq said that he has not disbanded the committee established for that reason because the government has always been willing to engage in talks with the PTI.

“The ball is in the PTI court now, as it has to seek approval from within the party first before engaging the government side,” the speaker of the National Assembly remarked in answer to a question, according to the Dawn newspaper.

Despite political disputes, Sadiq emphasized that the government’s connection with PTI is still open and has never been interrupted. He acknowledged the difficulties in interacting with the PTI and described the party’s founder as a “tough man.”

Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, said last week that the government is willing to resume talks with the PTI, which had withdrawn from the dialogue process after its demand to form a judicial commission to look into the events of May 9, 2023, and November 26, 2024, as well as the 2024 elections, was denied.

To address the problem, Shehbaz Sharif proposed to form a parliamentary committee. He noted that throughout its time in office, the PTI had never established a judicial panel but rather a committee at the request of the opposition.

According to the Dawn article, he urged the party formed by Imran Khan to reopen negotiations and agree to form the suggested committee that would conduct an investigation into the 2018 and 2014 elections. Rana Sanaullah, Pakistan’s prime minister’s political advisor, has also indicated that he was open to holding discussions with the PTI.

Shehbaz Sharif’s offer to form a parliamentary committee and to continue negotiations with the government was turned down by the PTI, according to Geo News. PTI leader and National Assembly Leader of the Opposition Omar Ayub stated, “We reject Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s offer [to resume dialogue],” during an appearance on the Capital Talk show on Geo News.

Ayub said, “Our demands were clear.” The party’s demand to free PTI’s “political prisoners” was reiterated. According to Senator Irfan Siddiqui, spokesman for the Pakistani government’s negotiating committee, PTI demonstrated their non-democratic and non-political mindset by cutting off communication, as reported by Geo News. He went on to say, “PTI lost a good opportunity towards [fulfillment] of their demands.”