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Thursday February 13, 2025

Deadlock as PTI team doesn’t turn up for talks

Ayaz Sadiq says committee will remain intact, as he was hopeful of continuation of process

By Muhammad Anis & Our Correspondent & Shakeel Anjum
January 29, 2025
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq chairs second meeting between government and PTI negotiation committee meeting in Parliament House, Islamabad on January 2, 2025 — PID
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq chairs second meeting between government and PTI negotiation committee meeting in Parliament House, Islamabad on January 2, 2025 — PID

ISLAMABAD: The PTI team did not turn up for negotiations with the government on Tuesday, leaving the National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq with no option but to call off the fourth round. However, Ayaz was hopeful of resumption of the negotiating process.

“My doors are open to both the government and the opposition, and I hope they will hold talks to find a way forward,” he said while talking to the media.

Ayaz said they were expecting the PTI members to attend the fourth meeting. Since the talks can’t proceed in their absence, there is no need to further speak about or continue the meeting, he added. The speaker decided to call off the fourth round after the government team members, including Deputy Prime Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, Rana Sanaullah, Senator Irfan Siddiqui and others, waited for the opposition’s team for 45 minutes.

To a question, Ayaz said the committee would remain intact, as he was hopeful of continuation of the process. He said it was decided in the last meeting that the government would respond to the opposition’s demand within seven working days which ended on Tuesday evening.

Ayaz pointed out that no conditions were put forward first in negotiations. He also recalled that the prime minister had constituted the government’s committee the same day when the PTI chairman had made a request for talks.

Ishaq Dar said the government members had come to the meeting with an answer to the PTI’s demands. “We were prepared for talks and I wished they would have come,” he said.

Underscoring the government’s positive efforts for continuation of the dialogue process, Dar said the government would have given answers to the opposition’s demands had they attended the meeting.

Talking to the media outside the Parliament House, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told a questioner that no one could predict that the negotiating committee would be dissolved but since the opposition members did not come, it seemed a futile exercise. He said closing opportunities for talks was against the spirit of democracy.

Senator Irfan Siddiqui said their final response to the PTI’s demands was ready and they could have presented the same had the fourth round of talks taken place. Siddiqui said the opposition side had sabotaged the negotiating process they had initiated themselves. Noting that the government side would review their decision, he said though the other side had practically ended the dialogue process, the government’s negotiation committee would not be dissolved till January 31.

Meanwhile, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Public and Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said the PTI will have to get back to the negotiating table, as there was no other way forward than dialogue. He said there was a possibility of setting up a parliamentary committee instead of a judicial commission, as the former could not be constituted on matters that were of sub judice nature.

Shakeel Anjum reports: Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan Tuesday expressed disappointment over the lack of progress in negotiations with the government. Speaking to the media outside the Adiala jail, he dismissed the claims of secret talks and emphasized his party’s transparent approach to engagement.

Regarding the recent organizational changes, Gohar addressed rumors about Ali Amin Gandapur’s removal, clarifying that he had voluntarily stepped down as the KP president to focus on governance amid heavy workload. He emphasized that the decision was made with mutual consent and condemned the spread of misinformation about Gandapur’s role.

Separately, Aleema Khan, sister of PTI’s founder, made serious allegations of judicial bias and political interference in cases against her brother. Speaking outside the Adiala jail, she claimed that Toshakhana-II case was being used to prevent Imran Khan’s release.

Aleema criticized the judiciary for allegedly replacing impartial judges in the PTI-related cases to manipulate outcomes. Aleema called on expatriates to halt remittances as a form of protest against the government’s actions, urging the establishment to restore justice and transparency.

Mumtaz Alvi reports: Meanwhile, PTI Information Secretary Sh. Waqas Akram Tuesday lambasted the government for scuttling the dialogue process, which he had joined with good intentions and great sincerity. He lashed out at the ‘mandate thief government’ for blaming his party for derailing the negotiation process. He recalled that the PTI presented its two most justifiable and reasonable demands in writing before the government committee but the latter failed to reciprocate in the same fashion.

Waqas said the government intentionally sabotaged the dialogue process by re-launching what he called ‘shameful figure’ Khawar Maneka to challenge the most absurd Iddat case decision, saying the nation knew who was pulling his strings.