With the talks between the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) facing a crisis, the PTI has demanded that the government include real decision-makers in the talks.
The talks between the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) appear to be heading towards a deadlock as after almost two weeks of talks, the former ruling party has demanded that the government include real decision-makers in the negotiation process to avoid any ambiguity in the agreement.
PTI leader and member of the negotiation committee Asad Qaiser, without naming the establishment, said that he has asked the government to include ‘stakeholders’ in the talks because ‘the thinking of those who have real decision-making powers has not yet been seen’.
Speaking to host Nadir Gormani on Dawn News, Asad Qaiser said that the decisions are actually to be made by those who formed this government, PTI has given the government time to consult in this regard.
However, the PTI leader’s stance is not new. Before these talks, PTI had repeatedly rejected the government’s offer of talks, saying that it would hold talks with the establishment instead of a ‘Form 47 government’.
Asad Qaiser threatened that if the government did not provide the PTI committee with uninterrupted access to the party’s founding chairman Imran Khan, they would walk out of the talks.
According to the government committee’s spokesperson Irfan Siddiqui, PTI did not do so despite promising to share its demands in writing with the government committee, which could harm the negotiation process.
Asad Qaiser said that ‘the PTI committee is only playing the role of a facilitator and only Imran Khan will take the final decision on any agreement’, he added that if the government does not facilitate his meetings with Imran Khan and other jailed leaders, the opposition party will dissolve the negotiation committee.
Responding to the demand for the involvement of real decision-makers in the negotiations, government committee member and PPP leader Raja Pervez Ashraf said that the committee is ready to talk to the establishment because some of the PTI demands, including the May 9 incidents, are related to it. He said that talks will be held with the army if necessary.
When asked whether the government team will talk to the army or include its representative in the negotiations, he said that the army is part of the government and it is our army, not an external force, he said that not only the PTI but also the government has taken a stand on some issues.
