Second round of crucial PTI-govt talks begins amid Jan 31 ‘cut-off date’
PTI to pursue two initial demands — release of “political prisoners”, judicial probe into May 9 and Nov 26 events
ISLAMABAD: The government and the arch-rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have kicked off the second round of crucial dialogue on Thursday amid the latter’s January 31 deadline for the result-oriented talks.
In its meeting with a government team, the PTI’s negotiating team had decided to pursue two initial demands — the release of under-trial political prisoners and the formation of a judicial commission to probe the events of May 9, 2023, and late-night crackdown on protesters on November 26.
After months of heightened political tensions, the embattled former ruling party and the government finally held their first round of dialogue last month.
The inaugural meeting, on the government’s part, was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, PM’s Adviser Rana Sanaullah, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Naveed Qamar, and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Farooq Sattar.
Whereas, the PTI was represented by former NA Speaker Asad Qaiser, Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza, and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) Allama Raja Nasir Abbas.
The government-PTI talks are being held in the wake of the former ruling party’s announcement of a civil disobedience movement if their demands of release of all political prisoners — including PTI founder Imran Khan — and the formation of a judicial commission for investigating the May 9 riots and the November 26 incident, go unmet.
The jailed former prime minister had last month called on his supporters to launch the anti-government movement by withholding remittances in the first phase.
‘Ready for protest’
A day earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said that the PTI was ready to launch a protest movement if the ongoing talks with the government failed.
Talking to a private TV news channel, he said the PTI founder had authorised party leaders to hold talks with the government only for the sake of the country.
The chief minister, who is also the KP chapter chief of PTI, stated that while his party had engaged in talks with the government, it was prepared to launch a movement if their demands were not met.
Enlisting the major demands, referring to the PTI’s charter of demand, he said these included the release of the PTI founder, other leaders, and political prisoners.
The chief minister also reiterated his earlier call for the formation of a commission to investigate the violent incidents of May 9 and November 26. He expressed the hope that the year 2025 would mark the beginning of what he termed “real freedom”.
Gandapur emphasised that the PTI relied on public support for launching the movement, asserting that backing from foreign powers was not required.
This is a developing story and is being updated with further details
