ISLAMABAD: Wedged between hope and despair, talks between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government and Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are likely to resume today after a lapse of more than two months.
“We have no issue in resuming stalled talks with the PTI. Most probably these talks will be starting from Sunday evening after the return of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from his foreign trip,” Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said yesterday.
Before leaving for London, the Prime Minister had asked Dar to approach PTI, which is in a protest mode since August 16 against the perceived electoral fraud in the May 2013 polls, and resume the dialogue process. The decision had come on the request of Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah.
The two sides are said to be in contact through direct and indirect backdoor channels. However, a formal dialogue is yet to resume. An opposition parties’ Jirga, headed by Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq, is also trying to get both the parties back to the negotiating table. Dar demanded that the PTI postpone its protest rallies as a gesture of goodwill before resumption of talks. However, he did not say it was a pre-condition.
The PTI has announced to shut down three major cities, Faisalabad, Karachi and Lahore, on December 8, December 12 and December 15, respectively, and the whole country on December 18, if its demand for an independent audit of the May 2013 general elections is not accepted.
Internews
