ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) has decided to hold a national consultation conference of political parties in Islamabad on Monday in a bid to find a negotiated settlement of the ongoing political crisis in the country.

The conference will be presided over by JI emir Sirajul Haq, Participants of the conference will be requested to play their role in bringing the government, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) back to the negotiating table.

Senior JI leader Mian Aslam told Dawn that all political parties except the PML-N had been invited to the conference, to ensure the PTI’s representation.

Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah and Qamar Zaman Kaira of PPP, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, National Party leader Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, Qaumi Watan Party chief Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and former president of Supreme Court Bar Association Asma Jahangir had confirmed their participation in the conference, he said.

He said he was trying to contact PTI chief Imran Khan and Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Farooq Sattar to invite them to the conference.

Mr Aslam said the agenda of the conference was to find a way to end the political crisis and save democracy. The JI was making efforts to unite opposition parties so that they could convince the PTI to restart negotiations with the government.

“I hope the conference will find a way to end the political crisis in the country,” he added.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2014