Islamabad: The first round of talks between the government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) concluded at the parliament house in Islamabad on Thursday.
The negotiators from PTI and the Government sides will meet again at 3: pm on Friday.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar claimed, “We have to settle the issues remaining within in the ambit of the constitution of the country.”
Similarly, PPP senior leader and former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani said both sides will meet again on Friday, and decisions will be taken after consultations with all political parties.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi, while speaking to the reporters, the talks ended after two hours and stressed that parties find solutions to problems through dialogue. He said, “We have entered the dialogue with a spirit of arriving at a decision, but we will not permit the negotiations to be exploited as a delaying tactic for elections,”.
It was the first-ever direct interaction between the political rivals—coalition parties and PTI and the aim of the talks was to end political deadlock over date of elections.
The first round of talks between the government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) concluded at the parliament house in Islamabad on Thursday.
The government and PTI held talks in Islamabad to end the political stalemate. PTI’s vice-chairman Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Fawad Hussain Chaudhry, and senator Ali Zafar have represented the PTI in talks. However, Ishaq Dar, Syed Naveed Qamar, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Kishore Zahra, Yousuf Raza Gilani and Law Minister Azam Tarar took part in the talks on behalf of the government.
Government/PTI talks begin at Parliament house
Coalition Govt being represented by Ishaq Dar, Saad Rafique, Naveed Qamar, Yousuf Raza Gilani, Azam Nazeer Tarar and Kishwar Zahra
PTI delegation being represented by Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhry, and Barrister Ali Zafar pic.twitter.com/pYe3ESnyik
— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) April 27, 2023
Earlier, the government and the PTI have finally decided on a date and time to start the highly-debated talks that are expected to commence at 6 pm today (Thursday) in the Senate.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl has decided to skip the negotiations. The development comes moments after Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani wrote letters to the leaders of the house and the opposition to nominate members from both the government and opposition benches to form a special committee for holding political negotiations.
In the letter, the Senate chairman Sanjrani said that both leaders, Dr. Shahzad Waseem and Senator Ishaq Dar, are requested to provide the names of 4 members for inclusion in the special committee within 2 days.
Sanjrani said that the Senate, being a stabilizing factor of the federation, is bestowed with the responsibility of protecting the political and national harmony vis-a-vis the public and national interest.
Committee for talks
The ten-member special committee would be working under the joint convenorship of the leaders of the house and the opposition and would comprise of 4 members from each side.
The development regarding the talks also comes on the back of Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial’s remarks that “courts cannot force political parties to hold talks,” stressing that the Supreme Court merely sought adherence to the Constitution and an end to the deadlock over the delay of elections.
