PTI finalises charter of demands for talks

Party seeks commission for May 9, Nov 26 incidents

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ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has finalised its charter of demands ahead of negotiations with the government as political rivals appear to be inching closer to the talks table, it emerged on Wednesday.

According to insiders, the PTI negotiation committee formulated the demands after consulting with the party leadership, ensuring they aligned with the directives of party's founding chairman Imran Khan.

The charter is reported to be concise and contains only two key demands.

The first demand seeks the release of all political prisoners, while the second calls for the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the incidents of May 9 and November 26. All members of PTI's negotiation committee will participate in the meeting today.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly spokesperson confirmed that the timing for the joint meeting of government and opposition negotiation committees has been rescheduled.

The meeting, initially set for 11:30 am, will now take place at 3:30 pm upon members' request. National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq will preside over the session today.

Meanwhile, Minister for Defense Khawaja Asif has urged PTI leaders to work for the national interest and avoid attacking the country's security institutions in future. "PTI had found involved in May 9, riots and this practice must be stopped in future," he said while talking to a private television channel.

In response to a question about dialogue with the opposition, the minister revealed that the government has initiated a dialogue process with PTI in the larger national interest.

"Despite political instability created by PTI leaders since 2018, we have successfully managed to reduce inflation," the minister said.

He said Pakistan's economy was improving day by day due to the continuous struggle of the incumbent government.

There must be political stability in the country so that the government can achieve economic and export targets in a proper manner.

Responding to a question about foreign country intervention in Pakistan's internal affairs, he said, no one can dictate to us on the country's defence affairs.

"Pakistan has full right to utilise all available resources for meeting defence requirements," he added.

Similarly, PML-N's Senator Irfan-ul-Haque Siddiqui said that a discussion would be made after receiving demands from the opposition party.

"We will have consultation with coalition partners and PML-N leadership regarding PTI charter of demands (CoD)," he said while talking to a private television channel. The legal help can also be taken on the matter of PTI CoD, he added.

In response to a question regarding the judicial commission on May 9 and November 26, he said the government will seek legal assistance regarding issues that held on May 9 riots and November 26.

He added that the homework would also be completed before making decisions and reviewing the demands of PTI leadership