PHOTO: RADIO PAKISTAN
A government delegation, led by former prime minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain met Fazl on Monday night, hours after government’s negotiating team, led by Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak, held talks with the Rehbar Committee and discussed their demands.
The meeting between Fazl and Hussain was also attended by Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi, Senator Talha Mehmood, provincial minister Hafiz Ammar Yasir and opposition Rehbar Committee Convenor Akram Durrani.
Talking to the media on the occasion, Elahi said that he had come for reconciliation and expressed the hope that all issues would be resolved amicably. He added that he would apprise Prime Minister Imran Khan about their talks with the JUI-F chief.
Earlier, the government’s negotiating team and the opposition’s Rehbar Committee sat face-to-face on Monday. However, the head of the government team, Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak, and his counterpart in the Rehbar Committee, Akram Durani, indicated that neither side signalled any sign of conceding any ground.
The Rehbar Committee presented the opposition’s four demands, including resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan and fresh elections in the country without the supervision of the military. The government side demanded of the committee to end the sit-in.
The talks were held at the Islamabad residence of Fazl. The government’s team also included Speaker Asad Qaiser, Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood, Religious Affairs Minister Noorul Haq Qadri and former finance minister Asad Umar.
According to sources, the government side sought an end to the ‘Azadi March’. Khattak said that the government was willing to listen to the opposition’s conditions but the demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan was a non-serious one.
“About the opposition’s allegations of rigging in the 2018 election, investigation can be carried out by the relevant forums,” a source quoted the government negotiators as telling the Rehbar Committee.
Durrani, the Convenor of the Rehbar Committee, told reporters after the meeting that both sides discussed at length each other’s demands and now they would hold another round of talks on Tuesday (today) after consulting their respective leaderships.
“The Rehbar Committee put forth their old demands,” Durrani told reporters. “Both sides debated them at length. It has been agreed that both sides will meet again on Tuesday. The government side will bring its reply at 3pm today.”
On the occasion, Khattak expressed his pleasure that there was no violation of the agreement between the authorities and the march leaders. “Today, we heard [their] demands. We will talk to our leaderships and will meet again tomorrow (today). Hopefully, we will reach some conclusion soon.”
The talks were held after both sides held their separate high-level parleys in the federal capital. The opposition parties gathered in an All Parties Conference (APC) convened by the JUI-F, while Prime Minister Imran chaired a meeting of parliamentary party of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The opposition’s APC was attended by nine parties to discuss the strategy of the Azadi March. According to the sources the meeting also considered proposals for nationwide protests, however, the participants were unable to reach an agreement on their future strategy.
According to the sources, the PML N and PPP gave the suggestion to end the sit-in and instead stage shutter-down protests throughout the country, while JUI-F and many other parties were in favour of continuing the sit-in alongside the country-wide protests.
Speaking on the occasion, the sources said, Fazl demanded of the PPP and the PML to clarify their positions whether they wanted to “rid the country of the illegitimate government or prolonging” the tenure of the rulers.
Fazl urged the political parties to take a united stand and assured that the JUI-F would be at the forefront. "The current situation requires that parties do not give priority to their interests over the people's problems," he said.
He stressed that it was their responsibility to devise an effective strategy for the supremacy of people's mandate. "I have resignations [of the party lawmakers] with me. It is time to take a decision," he added.
PPP leader Nayyar Bukhari told the meeting that his party stood by Fazl within the ambit of the law and the Constitution. "Giving more time to the government is waste of time," he said.
He urged the APC to consider the option of an in-house change of the prime minister.
Ayaz Sadiq of the PML-N also assured his party's support for the JUI-F chief, saying that struggle for the supremacy of the Constitution and democracy would continue. He vowed to continue protest against the government policies.
Later, during an informal talk with the journalists, JUI F leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said that the APC had decided that the sit-in would continue, adding that the sit-in could end on a quid-pro-quo basis.
The participants agreed to keep the option of talks with government open. They also decided to continue to hold their consultations, the sources said.
According to a private TV channel, Prime Minister Imran chaired a meeting of parliamentary party of the PTI and its allies. During the meeting, Imran clarified that government was not part of any deal and that there would be no compromise on corruption cases.
“Our stance is clear that no one will get NRO,” the channel quoted the prime minister as telling the participants of the meeting, while referring to an amnesty granted to the politicians by then military ruler Pervez Musharraf 12 years ago.
The meeting rejected the opposition’s demand for resignation of the prime minister. The PTI parliamentary party reposed full confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan and assured him of its full support.
Imran said that the opposition wanted anarchy in the country but “we must promote government’s stance”. He added that the opposition would not be allowed to derail the progress and “we will face them in political arena”.
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