LAHORE: Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Saturday said it would be better if Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan and Asif Ali Zardari sit together to resolve the issues, as holding negotiations is the only solution.
Addressing a seminar here, he said: “The summary of 40 years of politics is that the country cannot get out of crises unless the politicians sit together,” highlighting that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) did not agree on holding negotiations before November 26. He recalled that Nawaz Sharif and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto also admitted their mistakes before the Charter of Democracy, stressing that it was important to admit one’s mistakes before holding talks. “However, one can also express regret if he does not want to accept mistakes,” said the PM’s aide.
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said that negotiations must take place despite the bitterness. He said that he had asked the prime minister to form a government committee after contacting the opposition.
“My role was to facilitate the dialogue which should be conducted by both the committees,” said the NA speaker.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leader Khawaja Saad Rafique said the country was in a state of internal conflict, blaming the PTI founder, former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and former chief justice Saqib Nisar for the problems.
Saad Rafique expressed the hope for the government-opposition talks, saying: “The talks will be serious and there will be a way out.”
Rafique said that unfortunately, all the three political parties are a victim of “remote control politics”, adding that many people will become irrelevant if the situation persists.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif questioned the PTI intentions after the opposition party became ready for talks. “What happened in the last 15 days that they are now ready for talks?” he questioned. Asif said that he was unable to understand why PTI founder Imran Khan had now turned to dialogue.
However, he urged to include all stakeholders in the process of negotiations, adding that all the power centres of the country should sit together to find a solution and be a part of the talks. He said the stakeholders — army, bureaucracy, politicians, judiciary and media — needed to sit together to resolve the issues in the country.
He warned the government’s negotiating team not to let PTI founder Imran Khan “take advantage of you”.
The defence minister said he was not against the negotiations and hoped that the talks would be successful. Without naming PTI founder Imran Khan, he highlighted that the history of 10 to 15 years showed that only the PMLN had taken the initiative for negotiations.
He said the PTI founder didn’t show loyalty to anyone, even to his party fellows. He said the former premier did not even attend the funerals of those who spent their lives with him. “He uses people. Don’t let him use you, I am warning you,” he said.
The PMLN leader lamented that whether they were in power or not, they always offered talks but they never received a positive response.
Sabah adds: Separately, talking to the media in Gujranwala, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said the government was sincerely engaged in negotiations with the PTI for moving forward for political stability in the country.
He said the government wanted to build on the momentum of hard-earned economic progress during the last few months and political stability was inevitable to this end.
The minister mentioned with satisfaction that economic achievements of government were evident and were being acknowledged at every level, “even by our political opponents”. He said incidents of violence like May 9 could not be overlooked and anyone who commits acts of violence has to face the law.
Tarar said there was irrefutable evidence against all those people who had been sentenced so far in the May 9 related incidents. He stated that the right to fair trial has been ensured.