Govt, PTI talks to resolve elections impasse under way at Parliament House

A meeting to resolve the impasse regarding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is currently under way at the Parliament House in Islamabad between the government and the opposition PTI.

A Dawn.com correspondent confirmed that talks between the Imran Khan-led opposition party and members of the ruling coalition were under way on Thursday evening inside Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani’s chamber.

The negotiations are being held while a written order is awaited by the Supreme Court regarding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — an issue on which there has been a weeks-long impasse between the ruling coalition, the opposition and the higher judiciary.

Video footage from before the meeting showed PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and party leader Ali Zafar — two of the members included in the PTI’s negotiating team — arriving at Parliament House.

Accompanying them was Faisal Chaudhry, brother of PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry who is also part of the PTI’s negotiating committee.

Speaking to the media ahead of the meeting, Qureshi said that there was only “one-point agenda” for the talks, and that was elections.

When a reporter sought clarification on whether he meant early elections, he succinctly replied, “elections”.

In response to another question, he said the PTI’s delegation had Imran Khan’s complete mandate for the talks. “Whether the Pakistan Democratic Movement has the mandate for the talks, this you may ask them.”

Asked whether the PTI was sticking to its stance of the government using the talks as a delaying tactic, Qureshi replied, “This will become apparent by their attitude.

“In the past, their attitude has shown that they are using delaying tactics. Let’s see how their attitude is today,” the ex-foreign minister said.

The PTI leader said the purpose of today’s talks was to end uncertainty in the country.

Sanjrani seeks committee

Earlier today, Senate Chairman Sanjarani wrote letters to Leader of the House Ishaq Dar and Opposition’s Shahzad Wasim seeking names of members for a “special committee” on “holding political dialogue”.

The development had come a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that “arbitration is not the SC’s job” and the parliament will have the final say regarding the initiation of talks with the PTI.

Subsequently, two senior ministers contacted the Senate chairman and urged him to play his role in bridging the divide.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique met Sanjrani and asked him to form a committee comprising five senators each from the government and opposition sides, government sources told Dawn.

In identical letters addressed to Dar and Shahzad today, copies of which are available with Dawn.com, the Senate chairman said that he was approached by the government and allies to “facilitate the initiation of political dialogue to address the ongoing political and economic crisis including the holding of general elections”.

“In this context, the constitution of a committee comprising members of the Senate belonging to both sides of the aisles has been proposed,” he said.

Sanjarani noted that the Senate was bestowed with the responsibility of “protecting the national and political harmony vis-a-vis the national and public interest”.

Therefore, he continued, a 10-member committee was being formed for holding political dialogue under the joint convenership of Dar and Shahzad. It will comprise four members each from the treasury and opposition benches.

“My office and the Senate Secretariat will remain available to assist/facilitate the committee in the performance of its functions for preserving the political system and for the betterment of the state,” the Senate chairman said.

He further directed both the opposition and government to nominate the names of their members within two days.

PTI says govt should bring proposals before the SC

Meanwhile, PTI’s Waseem replied to Sanjrani’s letter and highlighted that PTI Chairman Imran Khan had already formed a three-member “high powered committee” comprising Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhry and Ali Zafar for “meaningful dialogue” on holding elections within the ambit of the Constitution and as per the top court’s orders.

“I would appreciate if you, using your good offices, may communicate to the government that if it’s sincere in dialogue for holding elections, then it should bring its proposals before the August SC during its hearing on the matter” scheduled for today, the letter said.

“Otherwise, it will only delay and complicate the matter,” Waseem said.

Elections impasse

The letters come against the backdrop of an impasse regarding elections in KP and Punjab — where the provincial assemblies were dissolved earlier this year. While the PTI has been adamant about holding polls in the provincial legislatures, the government maintains its stance on holding polls across the country on the same day.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court (SC) — while hearing a PTI petition — had directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold general elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14. However, the government had rejected the apex court’s orders.

After repeated back and forth last week, the SC on Thursday afforded a temporary respite to the country’s main political parties, giving them time till April 26 to develop a consensus on the date for elections to the provincial and national assemblies, so they could be held simultaneously across the country.

However, on Wednesday, PM Shehbaz reiterated that simultaneous elections will take place in Octo­ber or November after the current National Asse­mbly completed its term on Aug 13, whereas parliament will have the final say regarding the initiation of talks with the opposition.

The government wanted to talk to the PTI, he said, adding that there was an overwhelming opinion that the doors of dialogue should not be closed, but its format was yet to be decided. “The decision [regarding talks] has to be taken by parliament, not you or me,” he added.