Pakistan

Government and PTI Conclude First Round of Talks as October 4 March Remains On

Abdul Mannan 2 hours ago • 2 min read

Pakistani government and opposition delegations in tense talks across a conference table beneath Pakistani flags

Pakistan’s federal government and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) concluded their first round of negotiations on Friday at the National Assembly speaker’s chamber, but the party insisted its October 4 long march towards Islamabad would still go ahead, according to The News.

The six-member opposition delegation included PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, and senior leaders Asad Qaiser, Salman Akram Raja, Amir Dogar and Haleem Adil Sheikh. The government side was led by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, with the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry and the Pakistan Peoples Party’s Sherry Rehman among its members, the Islamabad Post reported.

During the session, Naqvi briefed the opposition on the law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the province where the PTI is in power. The PTI had reconstituted its delegation for the meeting after Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who leads the opposition alliance Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan, declined to attend at the speaker’s chamber and asked for the talks to be held at a neutral venue instead.

The session followed a Thursday meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who agreed on a joint government-PPP team to negotiate with the PTI. Gohar had said earlier that the opposition accepted the government’s offer for dialogue after consultations among its leaders, with representatives of both sides meeting at noon on Friday in Speaker Ayaz Sadiq’s office, according to Abb Takk.

The PTI postponed its long march towards the federal capital from September 27 to October 4, saying the protest seeks the release of its jailed founding chairman, Imran Khan, and what the party describes as the restoration of constitutional supremacy.