• Party seeks ‘frequent meetings’ with Imran to finalise demands, will share written demands at next meeting
• Govt satisfied with ‘positive’ tone, outcome of huddle

ISLAMABAD: The second round of talks between the government and the opposition could not make significant headway, as the PTI leadership sought frequent meetings with party founder Imran Khan to finalise their list of demands.

The two sides will meet again possibly next week. Though the PTI has been quite vocal about its key demands — a judicial commission to probe the May 9 and November 26 violence and the release of political prisoners — it could not share these demands with the government committee in writing.

It is worth mentioning that the PTI has already given an ultimatum that talks should conclude by the end of the ongoing month. Before the negotiations commenced, party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan claimed that the demands would be presented during the meeting.

“During the last meeting, it was decided that PTI leaders will give a written list of demands, but today they again requested more time for the finalisation [of demands] as they need to consult Imran Khan,” said National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq at a press conference after the meeting.

The speaker, however, said the meeting took place in a pleasant setting compared to the last meeting, adding that the next round of dialogue would be held next week. The NA speaker said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur tabled “excellent proposals and spoke with an open heart”, APP added. The most positive outcome was the consensus among all participants to engage in dialogue for Pakistan’s betterment, covering issues such as the economy, terrorism, and other critical matters, the state-run news agency quoted him as saying.

PTI leader Asad Qaiser, while talking to Dawn, said he would call it the start of a serious meeting in which both parties gave their point of view. “We reiterated that all the political prisoners, including Imran Khan, should be released and a judicial commission should be formed to investigate [the events of] May 9 and Nov 26. We also demanded that the status of missing political workers should be made clear and they should get justice. We also raised the issue of injustice with the parliamentarians in Punjab,” he said.

Replying to a question, Asad Qaiser said that the government demanded a detailed document, but it was informed that the PTI negotiators needed frequent meetings with Imran Khan to finalise the draft of demands since he was the final authority.

According to the PTI leaders, quoted in a joint statement issued after the meeting, Imran Khan had authorised the initiation of negotiations, and the committee required clear instructions to proceed. Following consultations with Imran Khan, the final charter of demands would be presented at the next meeting, said the joint communique issued after the meeting.

The statement also quoted PML-N leader Ishaq Dar as saying that based on the decisions of the previous meeting, it was expected that PTI would present its demands in writing during the Thursday session. However, he expressed no objections to PTI’s committee seeking guidance from Imran Khan before giving final touches to their demands. As per the statement, it was agreed that once the PTI committee completed consultations with Mr Khan, a date for the third meeting would be set for next week.

PML-N leader Irfan Siddiqui, who is the spokesperson for the government committee, told media persons, that it was also a positive development that negotiations were moving forward. He hoped there would be a positive development in talks.

Before the meeting Salman Akram Raja, who met Imran Khan in Adiala Jail on Thursday, informed the opposition leaders that Imran Khan had directed them to stick to the two demands i.e. release of the PTI workers and the judicial commission.

Talking to media persons after the meeting, PTI leader Omar Ayub also said that the written demand would be shared with the government after getting input and approval from incarcerated party chief, Imran Khan.

CM Ali Amin Gandapur said that the talks would succeed with the approval of powers that be. He hoped that the government would have taken them in confidence and that there would be development in talks.

The PTI delegation included Omar Ayub, Ali Amin Gandapur, Salman Akram Raja, Asad Qaiser, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, and Raja Nasir Abbas. The government committee included Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Irfan Siddiqui, Rana Sanaullah, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Naveed Qamar, Aleem Khan, Farooq Sattar, Ejazul Haq, and Khalid Magsi.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2025