The third round of talks between the government and the PTI to lower the political temperature will take place on January 16 (Thursday).
A notice issued today by the National Assembly (NA) Secretariat said that NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq would preside over the session at 11:30 am in Parliament.
Since the imprisonment of PTI founder Imran Khan last year in several cases, the PTI’s relations with the government and establishment have deteriorated sharply, marked by protests that frequently escalated into violence amid state repression.
Following the agitation, Imran set up a five-member committee to hold talks with “anyone”, signaling a change in the stance of PTI lawmakers in Parliament. In response, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also formed a committee with members of the ruling coalition.
The first meeting between the two parties took place on December 23, while the second took place on January 2. So far, the two sides have not made any significant progress as PTI leaders sought frequent meetings with Imran to finalize their list of demands.
Speaking to the media in Parliament today, PTI MNA Asad Qaiser said the party was “sincere” about the negotiations.
After meeting Imran on Sunday, the PTI negotiation team was due to meet Sadiq today to present the party’s demands in writing to the spokesperson.
The prison meeting, allegedly facilitated by Sadiq, came after days of complaints by the PTI that its team had not been allowed unsupervised access to Imran in jail.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur also met the party chief in a one-on-one meeting before meeting him along with the delegation.
At the beginning of their contacts, the PTI had presented two demands: the release of political prisoners and the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the repressions of May 9 and November 26.
