• Irfan Siddiqui promises response to party’s demands in Jan 28 meeting, terms move to call off talks ‘illogical’
• PTI leader says not possible to continue talks without formation of commissions to probe May 9, Nov 26 events

ISLAMABAD: As the PTI decided to walk away from the talks with the government till the formation of judicial commissions, the government urged the opposition to remain part of the dialogue, promising to respond to their demands in the fourth round of talks on Jan 28.

The announcement by the PTI to call off negotiations came shortly after the confirmation of the fourth round of talks scheduled to be held on Jan 28. So far, three rounds of talks have been held between the two sides, and the PTI submitted its written demands in the last meeting. The government asked for seven working days to respond.

“No commissions, no negotiations,” PTI leader Omar Ayub stated in a post on the social media site X. In a presser earlier in the day, Mr Ayub said the PTI would not participate in the negotiations till commissions were formed by the government to probe the May 9 and Nov 26 events.

The government, however, struck a conciliatory tone and asked the PTI to remain part of the talks. Senator Irfan Siddiqui, spokesperson for the government’s negotiation committee, said that they would present a written response to the opposition party’s charter of demands on Jan 28.

“We (government) have promised the PTI that we will present our response to the dialogue committee within seven working days and thus we will definitely submit our replies on Jan 28,” the PML-N senator told Dawn following a meeting of ruling allies regarding the PTI’s demands.

In response to a question about the PTI’s refusal to attend the next meeting until the commissions were formed, the senator appeared confident about the opposition party’s prospects to remain part of the dialogue.

“They (PTI) will definitely join the next meeting, and they should because the dialogue was started by them, as they first formed their negotiation committee,” said the senator about the dialogue to defuse political tensions.

He said the talks were being held on PTI’s demands for the formation of the commissions, adding that the government had not taken any decision regarding these. He also said that skipping the next meeting of the committee would be an “illogical” move by the PTI.

“We want they should … not leave the dialogue process incomplete and sit (with the government) without any condition,” he added.

“We will give a proper answer to the PTI’s demands (and) in the same manner in which the opposition party had submitted its demands,” the senator said.

He said the government had also asked National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, who is head of the negotiation committee, to call the fourth meeting of the committee on Jan 28 or on any other date with the consent of the PTI.

Senator Siddiqui said the ruling allies met on Wednesday for the second day to deliberate on the PTI’s charter of demands and would continue to hold their meetings daily till the fourth round of talks.

He said that on Wednes­day, some legal experts and lawyers were invited by the meeting who presented their point of view in light of the Constitution and some decisions of the courts.

“Some of the legal experts will come to tomorrow’s (Th­u­rsday) meeting, and they will also give their input in this regard,” he added.

The PTI had demanded the formation of judicial commissions on its May 9, 2023 and Nov 26, 2024 violent protests across the country and the release of all PTI prisoners.

Meanwhile, another PML-N leader, Khurram Dastagir Khan, said in a private TV programme that the government would not compromise on the May 9 riots.

It may be noted that after a long standoff, a dialogue between the government and the opposition started in December last year.

Initially, the PTI was not willing to share demands in writing, but after getting a go-ahead from Imran Khan, it shared the written dem­ands seeking the formation of judicial commissions and the release of its prisoners.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2025