ISLAMABAD: On May 2 (Tuesday), the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the government led by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) are scheduled to hold the “final” round of negotiations after the former ruled out the chance of a standoff between the parties.
Following the second round of negotiations, which took place on Friday in the Senate Committee Room, the parties decided to discuss the suggestions made during the meeting with their senior leadership and friends.
Both delegations had high hopes for a Tuesday conclusion, but PTI cautioned that if law enforcement continued to detain its employees, the negotiations may “derail” at any time.
he political parties were supposed to choose an election date by April 26 under a court order, but nothing had been decided as of the deadline. The SC stated during yesterday’s session that it cannot compel parties to engage in negotiations.
“The court cannot compel the parties to communicate. In order to settle the disagreement, the court just wants the Constitution to be implemented, according to Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of the PDM and Jamiat Ulema-e Islam (JUI-F), has chosen not to participate in the talks, however, as his group is of the opinion that they will not be successful in negotiating with Imran Khan’s PTI.
‘Progress’
After the negotiations, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar told reporters that progress had been made.
In a press conference, PTI Vice head Shah Mahmood Qureshi stated that he believed “reasonable progress” had been made today and that after meeting with party head Khan in Lahore, he would notify Khan about the talks.
Qureshi stated, “We presented our point of view and they presented theirs,” without going into any detail about the current ideas.
Fawad Chaudhry, senior vice president of the PTI, stated that the negotiations were held in a “positive atmosphere” but cautioned that they would fail if arrests of his party members did not cease.
The negotiation process will be ruined by the arrests. Despite receiving bail in each of his charges, Ali Amin Gandapur has still not been released, according to the former communications minister.
However, Fawad warned that whoever was behind the detentions was harming the negotiation process even though the government and ministers claim they are not responsible for the arrests.
Proposals?
According to sources with knowledge of the negotiations, the government has proposed conducting elections in September of this year.
The sources claimed that the PTI first objected to this and suggested holding the elections in July.
According to the sources, at this point, government representatives informed the opposition that elections in July would be premature because the budget must be presented in June.
The PTI delegation then consented to provide Khan with the government’s proposal.
According to the sources, Kishwer Zehra, a politician for Pakistan’s Muttahida Qaumi Movement, spoke to the attendees of the conference.
Khalil’s state
In an informal press conference earlier today at the Islamabad High Court, PTI chief Khan stated that he had told leaders Qureshi and Fawad to only speak with the government if they were prepared to dissolve the National Assembly.
“I’m telling these two to have a conversation if the government is prepared to dissolve the National Assembly immediately and call elections. There is no need if they (the government) keep talking about calling elections in September or October, according to the PTI leader.
The PTI leader added that the government now has the “ball” in its court with regard to elections.
“The Constitution has been torn if elections are not held [in Punjab] on May 14.”
