Govt's negotiation team became 'non-functional', says Siddiqui after talks ended

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Irfan Siddiqui on Saturday said that the government's negotiation team, which engaged with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to defuse political tensions, has become practically 'non-functional'.

"PTI has rejected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's offer after unilaterally withdrawing from the negotiation process," Siddiqui — who was the spokesperson for the government's negotiation team — said in a post on X.

The senator noted that they would see if the PTI felt the need to negotiate again.

He also criticised the former ruling party over its plans to launch a new agitation movement against the incumbent government, saying that the former ruling party was moving towards a phase of violent protests.

His remarks come after the high-stakes talks between the government and the embattled PTI ended inconclusively, with the latter linking it with the government's failure to constitute judicial commissions on May 9, 2023, and November 26, 2024, events as stipulated in "charter of demands".

The dialogue between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government and the PTI commenced in late December after months of heightened political tensions.

Following the opposition party's move, PM Shehbaz had also offered to form a parliamentary committee to renew talks with the PTI two days ago, however, the latter rejected it.

Meanwhile, the government also rejected speculations of "ongoing backdoor talks" between the former ruling party and the establishment.

Separately, National Assembly (NA) spokesperson — in a statement — ruled out the notion that Speaker Ayaz Sadiq invited PTI for dialogue.

"Sadiq only said that his doors are open to everyone," he said, adding that a formal invitation would be issued only when the government or the opposition themselves asked for it.

"This is also the role of the NA Speaker and he had made his position clear," the spokesperson said, reiterating that the doors of the NA speaker's "chamber and house" are open to any member.