Govt-PTI talks resume today after much acrimony

ISLAMABAD: The government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf are set to resume their talks after a three-day gap today (Tuesday) in what is being termed as D-Day for the fate of the negotiations.

The time of the meeting has been rescheduled as earlier it was supposed to be held at 11 am but now it will be held at 9 pm. “After the mutual consent of the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the time of negotiations was changed and the talks will now be held at 9 pm instead of 11 am,” announced Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani on Monday adding they will be held in the Senate Secretariat. Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani, who facilitated the talks said the timing was changed due to the engagement of the members of the government and PTI negotiation committees. The government team comprises former Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, Law Minister Senator Azam Nazir Tarar, Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique, Minister for Commerce Naveed Qamar, Minister for National Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema and Kishwar Zahra while the PTI delegation includes Vice Chairman PTI Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Senator Ali Zafar and Fawad Chaudhry.

Though both the negotiating teams signalled positive responses after the second round of dialogue saying that they were slowly moving forward on the big question of holding the countrywide election on the same day. It remains to be seen how the two would shed their strong public postures to accommodate each other to clinch the agreement. The date for the election remains elusive. According to sources, the PTI wanted the date for the election to be announced before the budget while the government insisted on a date after that. The closed-door meetings were held in a cordial environment yet a shadow of doubt continues to linger over the fate of the dialogue and both sides seem to have carved out their political strategies for either scenario adding to the unease.

The hawks from both—government and the PTI—were also making aggressive statements as Minister for Defense Khawaja Muhammad Asif opposed negotiations with the PTI saying talks with Imran Khan are futile. Remarks from Federal Minister Javed Latif also added to the boiling situation. He told the media that “negotiating with a terrorist group under pressure is like compromising on Pakistan’s defence.” On the other hand, senior PTI leader and former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry also warned of an anti-government movement if the talks failed. Similarly, while addressing its rally in Lahore, Chairman PTI Imran Khan said they are ready for simultaneous elections if assemblies are dissolved before May 14 and that would be their stance during talks on Tuesday