The negotiation committee of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is set to brief it’s incarcerated founder Imran Khan on the first round of parleys with the government at Adiala jail today (Thursday), after being granted permission to meet him at the facility.
The PTI negotiators will brief Khan on the first round of talks, held on Monday, and consult him on future strategy. The meeting is set to take place at 2pm, the insiders said.
The development came as Senator Irfan Siddiqui, part of the government’s negotiation panel, confirmed on Tuesday that they had approved the PTI’s team’s demand to consult Khan.
The much-anticipated negotiation process finally began earlier this week in Islamabad, following months of heightened political tensions between the PTI and the government.
The inaugural meeting, on the government’s part, was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, PM’s Adviser Rana Sanaullah, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, PPP leaders Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Naveed Qamar, and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Farooq Sattar.
Whereas, the PTI was represented by former NA Speaker Asad Qaiser, Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza, and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen Allama Raja Nasir Abbas.
The two sides are set to hold the second session on January 2, when the PTI will present its demands before the government panel in written.
The government-PTI talks are being held in the wake of the former ruling party’s announcement of a civil disobedience movement if their demands of release of all political prisoners — including Khan — and the formation of a judicial commission for investigating the May 9 riots and the November 26 incident, go unmet.
The jailed former prime minister had last month called on his supporters to launch the anti-government movement by withholding remittances in the first phase.
Expressing his views on private news channel about the ongoing dialogue, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political and Public Affairs, Rana Sanaullah, underscored the need for consensus on state interests regardless of differences.
“Neither they [PTI] would accept everything we say, nor would we accept everything they say,” said Sanaullah, while stressing that talks can lead to a situation convenient for both sides.
Commenting on the progress in the negotiation process, the PM’s aide said that the time frame for the culmination of parleys could only be ascertained once the PTI’s demands come to light.
“When the PTI comes [to negotiations] in black and white [writing], then we will also present [our stance] in writing,” he noted.
