Strategy in place if talks with government fail, says Fawad

PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said on Sunday that his party wanted negotiations with the government — on the impasse on elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — to be successful but at the same time contended that it had a “strategy” in place if the talks failed.

“PTI wants the success of negotiations [with the government], but it has formulated a strategy in case of failure,” the former minister tweeted.

“It is not possible for the PTI to sit silently if the Constitution is considered as a piece of garbage and the public as insects,” he said, calling on the people to prepare for a “movement”.

“The movement is starting tomorrow with rallies in Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar, culminating into a historic long march,” Fawad added.

Talks between the government and the PTI commenced earlier this week on advice of the Supreme Court. The development was seen as a breakthrough in the weeks-long deadlock on elections between the ruling coalition and the opposition.

After two rounds of talks, the parties are now expected to hold the final round of negotiations on May 2.

However, it seems Tuesday will be a tough day for the PTI and government negotiators, with the former seeking the dissolution of assemblies before May 14 and the latter appearing in no mood to entertain this demand.

The bonhomie on display throughout this week between the two sides was jolted by the late-night raids on former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi’s home.

With both major parties refusing to budge from their respective stances, cha­nces that the dialogue will yield positive results are starting to look “very slim”.

Speaking to party workers on Satur­day night, former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan said his party would be ready to discuss the election date only after the dissolution of the NA before May 14 — the cut-off date for elections in Punjab as per the apex court’s April 4 order.

“The PTI’s negotiating team will meet the government’s team for the third round on Tuesday (May 2) and present its demand to dissolve the National Assembly before May 14, otherwise [PTI] will go ahead with the Punjab general elections as per Supreme Court’s order,” Imran said and added the PTI would also approach the apex court for earliest general elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the constitutional time frame of 90 days had already passed.

The PTI chief said the people of Pakistan were coming out for peaceful protests under the banner of the PTI as they were waiting for elections. “If elections will be denied, these people will not stay peaceful and Pakistan may face a situation worse than Sri Lanka,” Imran said in a warning to the powers that be.

The former premier also announced Labour Day rallies in Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar on May Day (Monday) with a secondary objective: ‘Save Constitution – Save Pakistan’. Imran said he would lead the Lahore rally from Liberty to Nasser Bagh, while Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Pervez Khattak will lead rallies in Islamabad and Peshawar, respectively.

Separately, in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at Model Town a day earlier, the senior leadership of the PML-N decided it would not back down from its demand for simultaneous polls across the country.

During the meeting, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar updated the party leaders on the status of talks with the opposition as the huddle, also attended by Nawaz Sharif, resolved that the coalition government will stick to its demand for timely elections, a party insider said while talking to Dawn.

He said the meeting resolved that all coalition parties especially the JUI-F would be taken on board regarding the final decision on the demands of the PTI. The source was of the view that in case of an agreement between the ruling coalition and the PTI on polls, even though “chances are slim”, party supremo Nawaz Sharif will try to win Maulana Fazlur Rehman over.

Asif says mediation not SC’s job

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Sunday that the PTI was “most welcome” to initiate a movement if it wished to do so. Responding to a question while speaking to the media in Sialkot, Asif said, “They are most welcome [to start the movement].”

He said that all previous steps taken by the PTI had “failed”, implying that the upcoming movement would also attain a similar result.

“All steps that Imran has taken in the past year and the things he has announced, he has reversed them,” the minister said.

“Where did the long march go?” the minister asked, adding that the PTI’s decision to resign en-masse from the National Assembly last year had also failed.

He claimed that Imran’s Wazirabad long march was carried out “on someone’s directions”. “Now, they (PTI) have gotten new enablers. God will have mercy,” the minister said.

Asif also addressed the Supreme Court’s role in encouraging dialogue between the PTI and the coalition government and said that mediation was not the top court’s job.

“The judiciary gives verdicts according to the Constitution and law. It does not hold panchayats (village council meetings) — this is not their work.

“Where in the Constitution is it written that the judiciary will hold panchayats (village council meetings) and talks?” he asked.

“This new role that the judiciary has taken up where it will make us reach agreements, hold talks, and make council decisions — I will say with immense respect that this is not their job.”

Elections impasse

Efforts to reach a consensus come against the backdrop of an impasse on elections, with the PTI seeking early polls — particularly in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where assemblies were dissolved in January — and the government maintaining that elections across the country be held on the same day in October.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court — 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 Supreme Court on April 20 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 April 26, Shehbaz reiterated that simultaneous elections will take place in Octo­ber or November after the current National Asse­mbly completed its term on August 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.