PTI negotiator fails to soften up PML-Q

Pervaiz Elahi tells Shafqat Mehmood his party would rather negotiate with previous govt committee

LAHORE: The governing coalition appears to be straining at the seams as repeated attempts by the government to mollify its estranged allies have achieved nothing thus far. A member of PTI’s new negotiating team had no luck in his first effort to soften up a key estranged ally from Punjab which says it would rather negotiate with previous negotiators instead of starting the whole process anew.

The PML-Q is increasingly becoming disillusioned with the PTI and more vocal about its grievances. A member of the new committee of negotiators reached out to PML-Q’s senior leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Monday, but he asked for assuaging his party’s grievances first.

The new committee – comprising Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood, Punjab’s Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar and Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar – was recently formed by Prime Minister Imran Khan to engage the PML-Q – a move that didn’t go down well with the disgruntled ally.

Shafqat Mahmood met with Elahi at the latter’s residence in Lahore on Monday to convey a message from the prime minister. However, Elahi told the visitor that the PML-Q would not resume negotiations with the PTI until his party’s grievances were addressed, according to sources.

Handle allies with care, Elahi tells govt

He also called for implementation of the recommendations made by the previous negotiating committee, comprising Jehangir Tareen, Pervaiz Khattak, and Shahzad Arbab, the sources said. Elahi said his party would rather negotiate with the previous committee. He also asked for a direct meeting with the prime minister.

Last week, Elahi’s son, Moonis Elahi, also expressed his reservations over the change of government negotiators. “We were making excellent progress with earlier committee comprising of Jahangir Tareen, Pervez Khattak and Shahzad Arbab. Why is PTI out to sabotage itself?” he said in a Twitter post, advising the ruling party to be consistent with its policies.

On Monday, the two sides failed schedule a meeting between the new negotiating team and the PML-Q. Elahi said his party would resume negotiations only after the ruling party implemented the recommendations of the previous committee. The PML-Q sought to dismiss speculation about the resumption of negotiations, saying that Mahmood didn’t meet Elahi in his capacity as a PTI negotiator.

Elahi said the PML-Q stood by the PTI in larger national interests but some ministers were trying to create misunderstandings between them and the prime minister. PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain also said last week that the premier faced a threat from people within his party, and not from his allies.

Sarwar hopeful differences with PML-Q will be resolved smoothly

According to sources, Elahi advised the government to stop changing stance because it creates distrust among collation partners.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Mahmood said the PML-Q didn’t believe in give-and-take in its cooperation with the PTI. “They were, are, and will remain our allies,” he added. “Most of their grievances have almost been addressed,” he claimed at the presser where the absence of PML-Q leaders indicated what might have transpired in the meeting.

Mahmood sought to clarify that the new committee would not start negotiations afresh. “We would take it from where the previous committee left the process,” he said and hoped the two sides would soon sit across the table. “The understanding reached between the PML-Q and the previous committee would not be reviewed – it will be implemented.”

The ruling party has stepped up its efforts to win back the disillusioned allies on the instructions of the prime minister who wants to see result-oriented negotiations as soon as possible. Over the weekend, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani also visited the MQM-P headquarters in Karachi to soften up the party.

Sanjrani, who is not a member of the negotiating committee, tried to convince MQM-P convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui to withdraw his resignation from the federal cabinet, but the latter remained noncommittal.

Also on Monday, Pervez Khattak said the government would address the grievances of its coalition partners on a priority basis. “An important meeting has been convened on Thursday to review progress made to resolving the allies’ issues,” he said while speaking at Insaf Lawyers’ Forum in Akora Khattak Nowshera.

“Attendees at the meeting would include Punjab’s governor and chief minister, Sindh’s governor and members of the government’s negotiating committees,” he added. “All promises made to the allies would be honoured and their grievances assuaged.”

(With additional input from APP)