Top PTI leaders including Asad Qaiser, Omar Ayub meet NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, say sources
\n islamabad
\nIn a bid to create an \u201catmosphere of reconciliation\u201d and defuse prevailing political tensions in the country amid PTI\u2019s civil disobedience threat, the former ruling party and the government have agreed to use parliamentary forum for negotiation, sources told Geo News on Wednesday.
\nThe \u201cbreakthrough\u201d came during a meeting between National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and top PTI leaders including Asad Qaiser, Omar Ayub and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza at the Speaker House in Islamabad.
\nFollowing the key meeting, embattled PTI and the government have agreed to sit on the negotiation table without any preconditions ahead of the former\u2019s civil disobedience movement, the insiders said. The meeting was held following a telephonic contact between Qaiser and Sadiq, the sources added. \u201cThe government has accepted the PTI\u2019s dialogue offer to create an atmosphere of reconciliation [in the country],\u201d said the government sources. \u201cPTI [leadership] approached the government for dialogue,\u201d the sources said, adding that the former ruling party backtracked from its pre-talk demands.
\nThe government source was of the view that they always advocated for political dialogue to settle issues.
\n\u201cDialogue is the sole way forward in politics,\u201d the sources said, quoting the government officials.
\nThe former ruling party formed a five-member negotiation committee comprising Omar Ayub Khan, Ali Amin Gandapur, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Salman Akram Raja and Asad Qaiser last week.
\nThe Khan-founded party demands the release of \u201cpolitical prisoners\u201d facing trial and the constitution of a judicial commission to probe the events of May 9, 2023 and a late-night crackdown on PTI protesters on November 26.
\nFollowing the apparent failure of the PTI \u201cdo-or-die\u201d protest, the incarcerated party founder had warned the government of launching a \u201ccivil disobedience\u201d movement if his demands were not met.
\n\u201cIf these two demands are not accepted, a civil disobedience movement will be launched from December 14,\u201d the jailed former premier had said, adding that the government would be responsible for the results of this movement. However, late the party founder deferred the civil disobedience to
\nTalking to journalists outside Parliament House, Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza said that dialogues were the mandate of the five-member committee.
\nWhen asked if the government approached the PTI for talks, Raza said: \u201cSome matters are entrusted; Omar Ayub will respond to this question.\u201d
\nHe said that they were open for talks.
\nMeanwhile, PTI Secretary Information Sheikh Waqas Akram said: \u201cInformal discussion does not mean that negotiations have begun.\u201d
\nFormal talks between the government and PTI have not begun, he added.
\nThe well informed sources said that the ruling alliance is yet to form a committee to engage PTI as the Khan-founded party did not make a formal contact seeking negotiation.
\nPPP, a key ally of the PML-N in the Centre, was also unaware of the fresh development.
\nThe government sources said that the negotiation with the PTI would be subject to nod from President Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N President Nawaz Sharif.
\nReacting to the fresh development, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that the NA speaker had formed a negotiation committee in the past, adding that the same committee would hold talks with the PTI.
\n\u201cNo negotiation, no success sans PPP,\u201d said sources within Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari-led party.
\nPTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said that his party did not formally approached the government for negotiations.
\nEarlier in the day, Gohar urged the National Assembly to ensure justice for his party, warning against compelling them to return to the streets in protest.
\nSpeaking on the floor of the lower house of parliament, Barrister Gohar criticised the state\u2019s handling of the peaceful protests, highlighting alleged injustices and violence faced by PTI supporters.
\n\u201cOur people were wronged… bullets were fired at them. In any civilised nation, such actions against peaceful protesters are unthinkable,\u201d he said.
\nOppression grows but ultimately fades away,\u201d he said, emphasising the need for accountability and reform to prevent recurring injustices. Gohar reiterated that the PTI\u2019s protests were peaceful, with no evidence of weapons among demonstrators.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Top PTI leaders including Asad Qaiser, Omar Ayub meet NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, say sources islamabad In a bid to create an \u201catmosphere of reconciliation\u201d and defuse prevailing political tensions in the country amid PTI\u2019s civil disobedience threat, the former ruling party and the government have agreed to use parliamentary forum for negotiation, sources told […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414440,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-448756","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n