- Govt’s response to be assertive and politically relevant: Sanaullah.
- Tells PTI to receive a response if he does not attend the next meeting.
- “The process of dialogue must continue until it reaches a logical conclusion.”
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah expressed optimism that the coalition government’s response to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) charter of demands could convince the latter to return to the dialogue table.
“The government’s response will be assertive and politically relevant,” said Sanaullah speaking on Geo News “Jirga” program Saturday.
Despite incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan’s instruction to his party to cancel talks with the government, the prime minister’s aide remained hopeful that both sides would reach a conclusive result if the former ruling party decided to sit down at the dialogue table instead of looking for excuses.
Sanaullah elaborated on the future course of action following the PTI’s announcement, saying the government’s negotiating committee will hand over its response to the Imran Khan-based party whether it attends the next round of dialogues scheduled on 28 January or not.
Highlighting partial consensus, he said some of PTI’s demands can be accepted, while others can be rejected, which is part of every negotiation.
“There is a possibility that PTI will consider or agree on resuming talks (after considering the government’s response),” the prime minister’s aide said.
He, however, stressed that the dialogue process should continue between the two sides until they reach a logical conclusion.
On PTI’s inquiries, Sanaullah said continued dialogue was crucial to find answers to many questions: what would be the mandate (for the Judicial Commission) and whether certain figures recommended by the former ruling party would be agreement on the direction of the investigation.
To a question on whether the PTI founder called off the talks after the verdict in the Trust Al-Qadir case, Sanaullah dismissed the notion, saying the judgment had no relevance to the negotiations.
He explained that the government had never prevented the opposition party from delivering political declarations and carrying out movements and negotiations. He added that both sides had mutually agreed that external developments would not harm the dialogue process.
The Imran-based party “cancelled” the negotiation process due to government “non-cooperation” and delay in forming a judicial commission to investigate the May 9, 2023, violent protests and crackdown against party protesters in Islamabad on November 26 last year.
The PTI and the ruling coalition have been engaged in talks aimed at defusing political tensions in the country for almost a month. So far, the two sides have held three rounds of talks.
Conflicting statements from the embattled former ruling party regarding the negotiations continued with PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan a day earlier saying ongoing talks had been suspended, a passage from the party’s earlier announcement to cancel them.
The dialogue ended in a stalemate as the PTI was of the view that they would attend the fourth round of talks only if the government formed the judicial commission while the ruling alliance said they would give their written response to the PTI’s demand in the next round of the negotiation series.
However, in an apparent comeback on his earlier statement, Barrister Gohar – a day earlier – said the party may reconsider its decision to cancel the dialogue, but the government must announce the formation of the judicial commission.
Meanwhile, PTI general secretary Salman Akram Raja reiterated that his party would not participate in the January 28 session, convened by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.
Speaking to reporters outside Adiala Prison after meeting the imprisoned PTI founder, he said he had held an “in-depth discussion” with Imran on the talks, noting that the government was “ridiculing” the charter of his party’s demands.
“We want to let the people of Pakistan know what happened on May 9 and November 26,” he added.