Second round of PTI-govt talks begins today

The second round of negotiations between the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is set to take place today at 3:30 pm in a closed-door meeting chaired by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq at the Parliament House.

According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, PTI’s negotiation committee is expected to present its charter of demands (CoD), including the release of Chairman Imran Khan and other detained party members, as well as the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the May 9 and November 26 incidents. The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, will also participate in the talks.

Sources revealed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) negotiation committee, during its today's meeting, decided not to submit their charter of demands in writing.

According to the sources, the committee members stated, "Everyone already knows our demands; putting them in writing is beyond comprehension."

They further questioned, "Is the government even empowered enough to constitute a judicial commission on the incidents of May 9 and November 26?" The members added that today's meeting will evaluate the government's authority and seriousness in the negotiation process.

Sources within PTI revealed that the party has not yet decided whether to present its demands in written form or verbally. Anyhow, PTI will raise the issue of the release of Imran Khan and other detainees and will demand a judicial commission to investigate the events of May 9 and November 26.

The party sources said that the majority of PTI talks committee members are of the opinion that demands should not be presented in written form, as handing over written demands to the government committee would politically harm the party because the government committee could later start labelling the written demands as an NRO. Hence, this should be avoided.

PTI leader Latif Khosa, while talking to the media in Sindh High Court on Thursday, said that the country's issues can only be resolved through negotiations because both parties understand that the current situation does not allow the country and democracy to function.

Latif Khosa said that now it has to be decided whether the supremacy of the constitution and law will prevail in the country or a hybrid system will continue. It is clear that salaried individuals running on the hard-earned income and taxes of the people cannot manage the country's affairs.

Latif Khosa said that we want to talk to those who hold power. But despite this, we have also given them [the government] a chance because everyone knows the sitting government has no mandate from the people to rule. Even then, hybrid democracy is continuing, so we gave negotiations a chance.

He added that the current government is unconstitutional. Those with 17 seats are in government, and those with 180 seats are out of government. This is a negation of the public's right to rule and the constitution. The one with the public's mandate is in jail, and this is not serving the country in any way.

Khosa warned that if the federal government or the establishment continues to attack PTI, the issues will not be resolved in this way.

Khosa said that American interference is not new. It had threatened to make an example out of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for making an atomic bomb, while the Biden administration dismissed Imran Khan's government through Donald Lu. The Biden administration is leaving, and Trump is coming to power by defeating the world's most powerful establishment. Imran and Trump's struggles have many similarities. Both were accused of moral and financial corruption and were convicted, but the elections in Pakistan and America have proven that the public ignored all these actions.

Khosa said that the matters of Kurram Agency are linguistic and sectarian disputes 70 years old, but it is the success of PTI's KP government that both parties were made to sit down and reconcile. He added that it is the responsibility of the federal government and the Ministry of Interior to secure the cross-border intrusions that are happening.

On the other hand, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Irfan ul Haque Siddiqui, who is also a member of the talks committee, said that discussion would be made after receiving demands from PTI. We will have a consultation with coalition partners and PML-N leadership regarding the PTI charter of demands (CoD), he said while talking to a private television channel. The legal help can also be taken on the matter of PTI CoD, he added.

In reply to a question about the judicial commission on May 9 and November 26, he said, We will seek legal assistance regarding issues that were held on May 9 and November 26. The homework would also be completed before taking the decisions and reviewing the demands of PTI leadership.

Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif urged the leaders of PTI to work for national interest and avoid attacking the country's security institutions in the future.

PTI had been involved in the May 9 riots, and this practice must be stopped in the future, he said while talking to a private television channel.

In reply to a question about dialogue with the opposition, he said, We have initiated a dialogue process with PTI in the larger national interest. Despite political instability created by PTI leaders since 2018, we have successfully managed to reduce inflation, the minister said.

Reporter: Tayyab Saif