Negotiation with PTI can’t be held at gunpoint: Bilawal

Soon after confirming contacts with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) over the election date by Pakistan Peoples Party’s lawyer and senior leader Farooq H Naek outside the Supreme Court, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari took a U-turn and threw the party’s weight behind Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman, saying that dialogues cannot be held with the opposition by putting a gun to their heads.

Addressing a press conference, the foreign minister said that a conspiracy is being hatched to impose a "one unit policy" in the country.

Earlier today, Fazl rejected the possibility of holding negotiations with the PTI despite the directives issued by the Supreme Court a day earlier.

The PDM president made the announcement moments after the 4pm deadline set by the top court ended today.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court directed the embattled ruling and the opposition political parties to immediately thrash out a consensus on the date of elections and update the bench hearing by 4pm.

The directives came after the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) assured the top court that they would sit with the PTI and try to find a solution on the election date.

PPP’s Farooq H Naek and PML-N’s Khawaja Saad Rafique assured the three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial of holding talks with the opposition party.

The same assurance was made by PTI's Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

‘Contact has been made with PTI’

Contrary to the PPP chairman’s stance over the issue, the party’s lawyer and senior leader Farooq H Naek told journalists outside the Supreme Court that he has apprised the chief justice that his party had contacted the PTI over the matter.

“More contacts will be made after Eid ul Fitr,” he added

He also said that all the political parties wanted that elections should be held on the same date across the country.

“In its order, the Supreme Court has set May 14 as the date for the general elections in Punjab,” Naek said, adding that the top court was of the view that the new date can’t be given until consensus is reached by all the political parties. “We want to resolve all the matters through talks."