Caretaker set-up: Talks postponed as Zardari calls back Khursheed Shah

Top negotiators from PPP and PML-N were to meet to find “middle ground” on crucial issues.

ISLAMABAD: The first round of formal talks between Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) were postponed for undisclosed reasons as President Asif Ali Zardari called Federal minister for Religious Affairs Khursheed Shah back to Karachi, Express News reported on Tuesday.

Earlier, officials had said that top negotiators from the PPP and PML-N would meet to find the “middle ground” on crucial issues.

Federal ministers for Religious Affairs and Defence, Khursheed Shah and Naveed Qamar respectively, were to represent the government at the talks. The opposition was to be represented by MNA Sardar Mehtab Abbasi and Senators Ishaq Dar and Parvez Rashid.

Officials in the PPP and the main opposition party were expected to open formal talks for choosing members of a caretaker setup to hold general elections.

They had said the negotiations were part of an overall understanding on a broader timeframe for a political transition.