PTI decides against attending fourth round of talks with Govt

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided against attending the fourth round of talks with the government, summoned by NA speaker on January 28, ARY News reported.

As per details, opposition leader in National Assembly Omar Ayub stated that the party would not participate in the upcoming round of talks, scheduled for January 28.

PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said that PTI founder had decided to negotiate with the government for national interest.

However, the government had failed to establish a judicial commission, which led to the breakdown of negotiations with government.

Earlier today, Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq summoned the 4th session of the negotiation committees of the government and the opposition on January 28 (Tuesday).

The high-level meeting will be held at 11:45am in Committee Room 5 of the Parliament House, said a news release issued by the National Assembly Secretariat.

The in-camera session, to be chaired by Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.

Separately, PM’s Advisor on Political Affairs, Rana Sanaullah reaffirmed on Friday that the government has always supported dialogue as a way to resolve political issues.

“The government requested seven working days to provide a response to the demands,” he stated. “Regardless of whether the answer was, the talks were scheduled to proceed after that.”

He criticized the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for withdrawing from the talks prematurely by adding that the PTI’s decision to abandon the process before the agreed time shows they were not serious about resolving the issues through dialogue.

Yesterday, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, a member of the government’s negotiating team, urged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) not to quit talks with the federal government.

He appealed to PTI not to abandon the dialogue process and should be continued with patience, emphasising that talks are an integral part of a democratic process in politics.

“We are still calling them not to leave talks, wait for some days”, he said.

Irfan Siddiqui stressed that the government took PTI’s demands seriously, However, he clarified that no decision has been made regarding the forming of a judicial commission.

The Spokesperson expressed wonder over the hastiness PTI showed in quitting the talks, saying according to the PTI’s own timeline, January 28 will mark the completion of their deadline.

In a major development, yesterday Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced that it will quit talks with the federal government if the judicial commission is not announced.

Speaking to reporters outside Adiala Jail after meeting Imran Khan, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said that Imran Khan directed that negotiations can continue if a three-member judges commission is formed to probe the May 9 riots and November 26 protests.