Members of the ruling coalition and opposition PTI met again at the Parliament House on Tuesday (today) for a third round of crucial election talks.
The talks are currently under way inside a hall at the Parliament House.
The exercise was commenced last week on the Supreme Court’s advice for a breakthrough in a weeks-long deadlock between the government and the PTI.
PML-N’s Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Azam Nazeer Tarar and Sardar Ayaz Sadiq along with PPP’s Senator Yousuf Raza Gilani and Syed Naveed Qamar have been representing the government in the negotiations.
Meanwhile, the opposition delegation consists of PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry and Senator Ali Zafar.
Speaking to the media upon his arrival at Parliament House today, Qureshi said “the PTI’s conditions will be known to all after today’s talks”.
To a question about “mistakes” from both sides during the course of the negotiations, Qureshi maintained that the PTI had made none. “We are proceeding seriously and honestly,” he said.
Earlier, members of the PTI’s negotiating team held a meeting to determine the plan of action and strategy for the meeting.
Meanwhile, PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari also called on Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman — who has opposed the talks — at his residence in Islamabad.
During the second round of the dialogue on Friday, leaders from both sides had tabled their proposals, which the PTI’s delegations intended to discuss with its leadership and the government representatives with their allies.
Following the meeting, Dar had said while speaking to the media that Tuesday’s (today) dialogue would be the “almost final round” of the negotiations.
While both sides have come to the table at Parliament in an attempt to reach a consensus on the issue of elections, they continue to argue elsewhere.
For one, the government has already termed PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s demand for the dissolution of the assembly by May 14 ‘impractical’, while the latter hitherto has not shown flexibility in this regard.
A day ago, he vowed not to get “trapped” in the government’s plans to hold elections in September and warned that his party would take to the streets if the Supreme Court’s order to hold polls in Punjab on May 14 was violated.
Meanwhile, Federal ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Javed Latif and Khawaja Asif went public with their opposition to the talks on Monday, prompting Qureshi to demand a “clear response” from the ruling coalition and warn of taking to the streets if negotiations ended up being an “exercise in futility”.
Elections impasse
Efforts to reach a consensus come against the backdrop of an impasse on elections, with the PTI seeking early polls — particularly in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where assemblies were dissolved in January — and the government maintaining that elections across the country be held on the same day in October.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court — while hearing a PTI petition — had directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold general elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14. However, the government had rejected the apex court’s orders.
After repeated back and forth last week, the Supreme Court on April 20 afforded a temporary respite to the country’s main political parties, giving them time till April 26 to develop a consensus on the date for elections to the provincial and national assemblies, so they could be held simultaneously across the country.
However, on April 26, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated that simultaneous elections will take place in October or November after the current National Assembly completed its term on August 13, whereas parliament will have the final say regarding the initiation of talks with the opposition.
The government wanted to talk to the PTI, he had said, adding that there was an overwhelming opinion that the doors of dialogue should not be closed, but its format was yet to be decided. “The decision [regarding talks] has to be taken by parliament, not you or me,” he added.
Subsequently, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani had formed a committee with four members each from both the ruling coalition and the opposition for dialogue.
Third round of govt-PTI talks under way at Parliament House
