Those who reject dialogue same as Imran: PPP

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Parliamentarians Punjab leader Hasan Murtaza believes that those who accuse Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan of being a foreign stooge and reject the option of dialogue with him are no different from him, as they too are contributing to unrest in Pakistan.

Hasan was responding to Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman's news conference, wherein Fazl completely rejected the option of dialogue, stating that Imran was "launched" by foreign forces.

Fazl, who is the chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), blamed the PPP for the existing crises, stating that he had suggested resigning from all assemblies to push for general elections, while the party wanted to oust Imran from power via a no-confidence motion.

Murtaza told The Express Tribune that the effects of the economic downturn were temporary, and once the economy stabilises, their government would reap its benefits.

He stated that the actual problem in Pakistan's politics was the polarisation and that this divide should be bridged for the betterment of the country, visible from statements on both sides of the political spectrum.

He stated that they would want all political players in the arena for dialogue, regardless of challenges. The PPP had recently formed a three-member committee to engage with leaders of allied parties in the government to convince them on the option of dialogue, as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the JUI-F, the main allied parties in the ruling alliance, had rejected the option of engaging in dialogue.

Another senior PPP leader and member of the committee, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, told The Express Tribune that Fazl's statement was exactly why the committee was formed.

He stated that their primary task was to convince the parties for dialogue, and while he understood Fazl's anger towards the PTI, they would try to ease the tension and that dialogue was the only way forward.

He stated that the committee was meeting with leaders of allied parties to convince them for dialogue, and that terms of reference for the dialogue would be decided later.

When asked if the committee was also trying to convince allied parties to agree to dissolve the assemblies to ensure simultaneous elections throughout the country, Kaira said that currently, their focus was on bringing parties to the dialogue table.

State Minister Hashim Notazai of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), while speaking to The Express Tribune, dismissed the idea of early elections.

Notazai, who met with a committee member on Friday, stated that they did not support early dissolution of assemblies, and instead wanted the assemblies to complete their tenure.

He also stated that no wise man would suggest early dissolution of the assemblies and that elections should be held on time.

Regarding the meeting with the PPP committee, the state minister said that they agreed to holding dialogue, but it should be unconditional. He added that dialogue with pre-conditions was not acceptable to them.