Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the PDM-led government are holding the second round of talk over the Punjab Election date in Senate secretariat.
According to details, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhary and Barrister Ali Zafar are representing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf while the government negotiation team includes Ishaq Dar, Yousaf Raza Gillani, Saad Rafique, Naveed Qamar, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Tariq Bashir Cheema and Kishwar Zehra.
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Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, who is leading the initiative of talks, returned to his chamber after welcoming both the delegations to Senate’s Committee Room.
During an informal talk with journalists at the Islamabad High Court (IHC), PTI Chairman Imran Khan said he has instructed both Qureshi and Fawad to only talk with the government if they are willing to dissolve the National Assembly.
“I am telling these two if the government is ready to dissolve the National Assembly at once and hold elections then talk. If they (govt) repeat the same talk of holding elections in September or October, then there is no need,” Khan said.
During his informal discussion with journalists at the IHC, the PTI chief also stated that the “ball” was now in the government’s court on the matter of elections.
“If elections are not held [in Punjab] on 14th May, it means the Constitution has been torn apart. If the Constitution is violated, then whoever has power will have his way,” said the PTI chief.
He said that his party always respected the Supreme Court, adding that there was no comparison between the PTI and Pakistan Democratic Movement as his party adhered to the Constitution while the other side did not.
“The Constitution is supreme, not the Parliament,” stressed Khan.
The PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman who is also the president of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) said his party was against the negotiations and would not be part of the talks with PTI.
In conversation with journalists, Fazl said holding consultations is the job of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), not political parties.
“The Supreme Court is forcefully asking us to hold talks; all the political parties are trying to convince one person [Khan] and we cannot do that,” the JUI-F chief said.
The political turmoil — that began after Khan’s ouster in April last year — has led to severe economic distress, with the rupee falling to historic lows against the dollar and foreign exchange reserves falling to less than a month’s import cover.
Remember that its a good news in Pakistan’s Politics as ruling alliance and the PTI finally came to the negotiating table a day earlier to discuss the poll date following Supreme Court’s orders.
In the first round of talks which lasted for around two hours at the Parliament House’s Committee Room Number 3, both sides informed each other about their top leadership’s stance.
The PTI delegation informed the government about Chairman Khan’s stance on elections and how they should be conducted.
After the meeting, sources told that the PTI presented three demands before the government delegation:
- The national and provincial assemblies should be dissolved in May this year and for extending polls beyond May 14, an amendment should be made to the Constitution;
- If the government decides to amend the Constitution, then PTI’s resignations will have to be called back;
- Elections should be held across the country in July this year.
