ISLAMABAD: The federal government has refused to respond to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) charter of demands before January 28, the day the next round of talks is scheduled to take place, with the former ruling party insisting on the formation of a judicial commission for continuity of negotiations.
“As per the agreed communique, no response will be given before the seven-day deadline...we will respond to PTI’s demand for judicial commission in the next round of talks,” PMLN Senator Irfan Siddiqui — who is also the spokesperson for the government negotiation committee — said while speaking to Geo News on Sunday.
Uncertainty looms over the future of negotiations, facilitated by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, as conflicting statements have emerged from the embattled former ruling party with PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan saying the ongoing talks were put on hold, a shift from the party’s earlier announcement of calling them off.
The PTI “called off” the negotiation process due to “non-cooperation” of the government and delay over the formation of a judicial commission to probe the May 9, 2023 violent protests and a crackdown on party protesters in Islamabad on November 26 last year.
The PTI and the ruling coalition have been engaged in talks aimed at defusing political tensions in the country for nearly a month. Both sides have held three rounds of talks so far.
Speaking to Geo News on Sunday, Siddiqui lambasted the Imran-founded party for ending the talks unilaterally, saying that the abrupt end was a surprise not only for the committee but also for the PTI itself.
“Barrister Gohar previously cited Imran’s message for calling off the negotiations... Later in the evening, they put forward a justification that the police raided [Sunni Ittehad Council chief] Sahibzada Hamid Raza’s house,” he noted.
He added Raza used the words “absolutely not” for negotiations. “But we are ready for the Jan 28 meeting...we will not respond to PTI’s threats or boycotts,” he warned.
Barrister Gohar — while talking to Geo News — said the government had delayed the start of negotiations and also delayed the formation of the commission. “If the government is serious about the talks, take one positive step and we will talk to Imran,” he said.
According to PTI chairman, the negotiation process has officially ended after the end of the seven-day deadline. He noted that the government can announce the formation of judicial commission and his party would look into it.
“If the government asks us to sit on the commission’s TORs [terms of references], we will talk to the PTI founder,” he concluded.
Separately, PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram ruled out continuing negotiations with the government, saying that they were now over.
“We opted out of the negotiations after witnessing the government’s behaviour,” he said, claiming that they were not serious about the negotiations.
In response to a question on PTI re-initiating talks, he said that party chairman Barrister Gohar and secretary general Salman Akram Raja must have spoken about the announcement of the commission and its terms of reference (ToRs) in “good will”.
“Talks are over...we do not want to continue talks with the government in any respect,” he said, adding that even if a judicial commission is formed, the party would look into it. Responding to another question, he said that the government’s statement about PTI recognising its mandate is “a complete lie”, noting the charter of demands mentioned that “free and transparent elections are essential for broad-based negotiations”.