ISLAMABAD: The stalemate in the ongoing negotiations between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the government has been blamed on the former’s inability to present their demands in writing and meet its incarcerated founder Imran Khan, sources told Geo News on Monday.
While the opposition claims that the Adiala jail authorities have not allowed them to meet Khan, the government on the other hand has cited the former ruling party’s inability to present a written charter of demand leading to National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq’s hesitance in calling a third meeting, added the sources.
The existing stalemate comes after the two sides, following months of heightened political tensions, commenced much-hyped negotiations of which two meetings were held on December 27, 2024 and on January 2, 2025.
During the last meeting between the government and the PTI’s negotiation committees, the two sides had decided that the Khan-founded party would present its charter of demands in the next session after meeting the jailed prime minister. Also, it was decided that the third round of talks would be summoned after the PTI committee had met Khan.
The former ruling party has time again reiterated its call for the release of its founder and their workers and the formation of a judicial commission on the events of the May 9 riots and last year’s November 26 protests.
Sources say that apart from presenting a written charter of demand after meeting Khan, the PTI would have to ink an agreement with the government if the demands are accepted.
Despite the conducive environment in two of the sittings so far, neither side has approached the NA speaker’s office to convene the third meeting.
On the issue of written demands, PTI negotiator Asad Qaiser has maintained that the verbal demands presented in the two meetings had now become minutes and should be considered their written demands.
Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief and PTI’s negotiation committee member Sahibzada Hamid Raza has said that the government has not yet confirmed the permission to meet Khan.
The hurdle in PTI leaders’ meeting with the ex-PM has been blamed on the lack of progress regarding the standard operation procedures (SOPs) concerning the said meeting.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) parliamentary leader in the Senate and spokesperson of the government’s negotiating committee Irfan Siddiqui has apprised PML-N President and former PM Nawaz Sharif of the situation.
The ambiguity surrounding the PTI-government talks comes as the former has set the January 31 time-frame for the ongoing negotiations to reach a “logical conclusion” — something Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah, also part of the dialogue, has said that the former ruling party should extend to February 28.
As PTI, according to The News, demands Khan’s release via an executive order, the government has warned that change in the former ruling party’s stance could jeopardise the ongoing negotiations aimed at easing political tensions in the country.
“It seems the PTI leadership is not on the same page regarding sharing their demands in writing with the government,” the Senator said last week while speaking to journalists.
The PML-N leader further noted that Qaiser’s comments suggested he was struggling to fulfil promises and assurances made to the government’s team during the previous two rounds of negotiations.
