ISLAMABAD: Following a me­­e­­ting between the PTI and JUI-F on Friday night, the former clai­med that both sides had decided to cooperate with each other on an “issue to issue and agenda to agenda” basis.

The remarks by PTI leader Asad Qaiser came after a PTI delegation led by party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan called on JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman at his residence in an effort to forge unity among the opposition parties ahead of the upcoming crucial sessions of the National Assembly and Senate.

Talking to Dawn after the meeting, former NA speaker Asad Qaiser said the two parties had decided to cooperate with each other on the “issue to issue and agenda to agenda” basis.

As the first phase of their joint strategy, they had decided to make efforts to block “controversial” legislations that the government was planning to bring to parliament next week, he added.

There was no official word from the JUI-F after the talks.

Gohar holds talks with Fazl; no word from JUI-F about outcome of meeting

Besides Mr Qaiser, Shibli Faraz and Information Secretary Raoof Hasan were part of the PTI’s delegation whereas Maulana Fazl was assisted by Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Akhunzada Hus­sain Yousafzai and Aslam Ghouri.

The meeting took place hours after the government convened the sessions of the National Assembly and Senate on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

Mr Qaiser said both sides had nominated their respective representatives in the National Assem­bly and the Senate to devise a joint strategy in the two houses of parliament.

He said Barrister Gohar, an MNA, and Senator Faraz had been nominated by the PTI whereas MNA Ghafoor Haideri and Senator Kamran Murtaza had been given the task by the JUI-F for coordination in the two houses.

The meeting between the two parties is being seen as a significant development by political experts after a categorical announcement by the JUI-F chief that he would not become part of any alliance in light of his past experiences with such alliances.

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In an interaction with journalists at his Dera Ismail Khan residence on Aug 20, Maulana Fazl had stated that JUI-F would take a solo flight against the government, though its cooperation with opposition parties on issues of mutual concerns would continue.

Maulana Fazl, who headed the Pakistan Democratic Movement against the PTI government, said he would run a movement against the incumbent government alone while continuing to cooperate with opposition parties on common issues.

Speaking about talks with PTI on that occasion, he had said that JUI-F had “deep ideological differences” with PTI and still held that belief. However, his position on some issues was the same as the PTI’s. He had stated that instead of a comprehensive political alliance with PTI, issue-based talks with the opposition party were ongoing.

When asked about the Maul­a­na’s remarks, Asad Qaiser said that during Friday’s meeting they had not discussed any plan to form any formal alliance. He added that for the time being, they had only agreed to cooperate with each other on an “agenda to agenda basis” in parliament.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2024