Govt, opposition agree to resume talks

PM expected to join consultations on political, constitutional matters

ISLAMABAD:

The government and opposition on Monday agreed to hold further rounds of talks, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also expected to join the consultations.

A government delegation comprising Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Tariq Fazal Chaudhry met opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai in his chamber at Parliament House.

The meeting discussed political matters and a letter written by the opposition leader to the prime minister, while the two sides agreed to hold further rounds of dialogue, according to sources.

The sources said Achakzai had demanded that the prime minister be included in discussions on political and constitutional matters and that consultations be held under the premier's leadership in the Constitution Room of Parliament House.

It was agreed that the government delegation, led by the prime minister, would meet the opposition at Parliament House, after which the prime minister would invite the opposition delegation to the Prime Minister's House for detailed discussions on all matters.

Talking to the media after the meeting, Rana Sanaullah said there were no complaints or grievances discussed and that the prime minister was responding to the letter, which was the subject of discussion.

 

'Talks still on table'

Meanwhile, the Senate witnessed a heated debate over the health of PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan as Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas demanded on humanitarian grounds that he be treated by doctors of his choice and allowed to meet his family.

Government ministers, while once again offering talks, maintained that Imran was receiving treatment in accordance with the jail manual and said PM Shehbaz Sharif's offer of a meeting remained on the table.

Before proceedings on the agenda began, Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, speaking on a point of order, asked that the day's agenda be deferred and a debate be held on Imran Khan's health.

After consulting members on the treasury benches, the chairman deferred the agenda and allowed five members each from the government and opposition benches to speak on the issue.

Speaking on a point of order, Raja Nasir Abbas said Imran Khan was a former prime minister who had been imprisoned without justification and referred to a report presented by the Adiala Jail superintendent before the Supreme Court, which, according to him, stated that Imran was distressed and had high blood pressure.

He said matters would move forward if the sides sat together and held talks. Addressing Sanaullah, he said, "Rana Sanaullah sahib, you yourself remained in jail. You know that FIRs were registered against you and who registered them. Yet you are adopting this attitude towards a politician."

Raja Nasir Abbas said politicians had historically served prison terms and had been made targets. "I had said before that a parliamentary committee should be formed and meetings should be arranged between him and Mahmood Achakzai and other parliamentarians," he said.

He also referred to the hanging of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, saying it was carried out through a nexus between the judiciary and the establishment and that politicians were still being subjected to injustice.

Responding to him, Sanaullah said Imran Khan was currently a convicted person in judicial custody and that decisions regarding meetings with a person in judicial custody were made by the courts.

He said the opposition leader's claim about Imran's blood pressure was not within his knowledge and, according to the information available to him, Imran was not unwell.

He added that Imran had faced an eye-related problem for which he had received the best treatment at PIMS Hospital and had also been administered injections.

As for meetings, Sanaullah said several petitions concerning the matter were pending before the courts.

He said meetings with Imran were taking place, adding that Senator Saleem Mandviwalla had met Barrister Gohar and that meetings with PTI leaders were also taking place.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar responded that whether the cases concerned May 9 or other cases against Imran Khan, all proceedings had taken place in accordance with the law, arguments had been heard and sentences had subsequently been handed down.

He said those sentenced had filed appeals against their convictions.

Tarar acknowledged that there were delays in the judicial system, saying that in the past appeals against death sentences used to be heard after six years and NAB appeals had remained undecided for six years or more.

"We also appeared before these same courts and continued to speak while sitting on these same platforms, and they used to make fun of us," he said.

He recalled that former premier Nawaz Sharif had also been convicted by courts and later granted bail by the courts. "It did not happen that a mob came and took him out of jail," he said.

Regarding Imran's health, Tarar said the petition filed on the issue had been heard in open court and PTI lawyer Khawaja Salman Safdar had been appointed as a judicial assistant.

He said Salman Safdar's report contained all the relevant details, including Imran's statement that he was not being treated by doctors of his choice.

"But if he is treated by doctors of his choice, then all the prisoners in jails will have to be treated by doctors of their choice. It cannot be that there is one law for one person and another for someone else," Tarar said.

PTI leaders responded that Imran was a former prime minister and not an ordinary person.

Tarar replied that he was also an ordinary person in the eyes of the law and that everyone was equal before it. "He is an ordinary human being. You are presenting him as a deity. Read the law first and then come here and speak," he said.

During the exchange, PTI lawmakers protested. Tarar told them to be allowed to speak, quping, "They have to go and post on TikTok, that is why they are speaking here."

He also said petitions had been filed before the Geneva court and that the government had gone there and provided information regarding Imran Khan's health in accordance with the law.

PTI Senator Mohsin Aziz said Imran Khan's "real crime" was that he had said "absolutely not".

He questioned why the PTI founder was not being provided a doctor of his choice and why his family was not being allowed to meet him.

"We did not subject Nawaz Sharif to such treatment," he said, asking why Imran's family members were not being allowed to meet him and why his wife was being troubled when she had no connection with any political activity.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, responding to the remarks, said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's invitation for talks was still on the table.

"Let the opposition come together. Achakzai Sahib and Raja Nasir Abbas Sahib should sit together and hold talks with us," he said.

He criticised the opposition for speaking of negotiations while simultaneously calling for protests. "You cannot shut down a city in the name of peaceful protest," he said.

PTI Senator Mashal Yousafzai said Imran Khan was a former prime minister who had given the country three cancer hospitals and was now seeking medical treatment for himself.

She said the Adiala Jail superintendent had also stated that the PTI founder was suffering from high blood pressure and demanded that he be treated by doctors of his choice.

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said the government had initially faced a political stance in which the PTI said it did not recognise the prime minister, Parliament or political parties, but had now returned to the issue on humanitarian grounds.

He said a three-member Supreme Court bench had heard the writ petition that morning and claimed that Imran had received more meetings in jail than he had at his home.

He said the Adiala Jail superintendent had submitted a report regarding meetings and added that if the opposition wanted every meeting to be conducted "with a thumbprint on the neck", that would not happen.

Talal asked who had stopped Imran Khan's two sons from meeting him.

He said both of Imran's sons had valid NICOPs and had not come to meet their father for three years.

He urged the PTI to adopt a political approach, saying the party had walked away from the negotiating table previously, not the government.

"The negotiating table is still there. The Speaker's office is there. Come for talks and sit together to find a solution to the problems," he said.

The PTI members subsequently began protesting in the House. During the commotion, PTI Senator Mirza Mohammad Afridi pointed out the lack of quorum.

The Senate session was adjourned until 3:30pm.