Govt, PTI to meet again as first round of talks conclude

ISLAMABAD: Delegations of the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will meet again tomorrow (Friday) as the first round of talks on holding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) ended, ARY News reported on Thursday.

The negotiations between the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were held at Parliament House to break political impasse regarding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and concluded after almost two hours.

A three-member delegation – comprising of Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhry and Senator Ali Zafar – were representing PTI in the talks.

Meanwhile, the government’s panel includes Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Senator Yousuf Raza Gillani, Saad Rafique, Naveed Qamar, and Kishwar Zehra.

The delegations of government and opposition will meet again on Friday (tomorrow) at 3pm.

Talking to journalists after the meeting, PPP’s Yousaf Raza Gilani the ruling parties would consult each other and make a decision. “Whatever is decided, it will be based on input from all parties,” he added.

The talks would be resumed tomorrow at 3pm, during which the PTI would present their demands, Gilani said, adding that the coalition parties would then be apprised of the PTI’s demands.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said it had been principally decided that matters would be resolved within the ambit of the Constitution.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi, while speaking to the media, said the consultations ended after two hours and stressed that political parties find solutions to problems through talks.

However, he said, that his party would not allow the talks to be used as a delaying tactic for elections.

One-point agenda 

Talking to journalists before the talks, PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi hoped for a breakthrough in negotiations. “We should hope for the beat even in despair,” he said.

Moreover, Fawad Chaudhry noted that PTI has only one-point agenda i.e. election. “We have spoken to [party chief] Imran Khan and out matters are settled,” he said, adding that the three-member committee has full mandate.

He further said that as per the Constitution, elections should be held within 90 days of dissolution of assembly. “Negotiations will only take place as per constitution and law”, he added.

Sanjrani to form parliamentary committee

Earlier in the day, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani decided to form a 10-member parliamentary committee for talks on holding elections across the country on the same date.

In a letter written to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and PTI senator Shehzad Waseem, the Senate chairman has asked both leaders to give four names for the formation of committee to address the ongoing political and economic crisis including the holding of general elections.

“The Senate of Pakistan; House of Federation, being a stabilising factor of the federation is constitutionally bestowed with the responsibility of protecting the national and political harmony vis-a-vis the national and public interest,” he wrote.

Sanjrani added that a 10-member special committee for holding political dialogue is being constituted under the joint convenership of the Leader of the House in the Senate and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and comprising four members each from the treasury and opposition benches.

‘SC can’t force govt to hold negotiations’

Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday adjourned hearing of a plea seeking simultaneous elections across Pakistan.

At the last hearing before Eidul Fitr, the SC had asked political parties to hold talks on April 26 and come up with a response by April 27 after giving stakeholders a chance to reach an agreement.

A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Ijazul Ahsan heard the case.

At the outset of the hearing, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan told the court first contact between the government and the opposition was held on April 19 and it was decided to hold a meeting on April 26.

Federal Ministers Ayaz Sadiq and Khawaja Saad Rafique met PTI leader and former NA speaker Asad Qaiser who during the meeting said he is not ‘authorised’ for talks, the AGP said.

Political impasse

It is to be noted here that the government had assured the Supreme Court of holding talks with the opposition over elections in two provinces on April 26.

During SC’s last hearing on polls delay case, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had assured the Supreme Court that they will sit with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and try to find a solution on the election date.

A three-member bench of the top court — headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar — has sought a progress report on the talks by April 27.

The Supreme Court – in its April 4 order – declared Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone elections to the Punjab Assembly till October 8 “unconstitutional” and fixed May 14 as new date.

Read More: Maulana Fazlur Rehman ‘major hurdle’ in talks with opposition

The National Assembly later passed a resolution rejecting the three-member Supreme Court bench’s verdict on the Punjab polls, stating that it would not provide funds to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for polls.