Political stalemate: Wait and watch till PTI’s November 30 show

Islamabad rally will decide how government, PTI talks proceed

ISLAMABAD:

Although Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led federal government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership have offered each other to restart negotiations, both sides are still awaiting the PTI’s November 30 show to decide their course of action, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Well-placed sources in the PML-N said the government has devised its strategy to strategically play its cards while initiating talks with the PTI. According to them, the PML-N will neither refuse to hold talks nor give its commitment on any PTI pre-conditions.

They said the PML-N and its allies are waiting for the PTI’s show of power on November 30 as Imran Khan has asked PTI workers to descend on Islamabad from across the country.  They said the government has decided to let Imran Khan continue his sit-in and rallies, which, it believes, will ultimately allow the PML-N to expose the PTI.

It must be noted that the PTI has been demanding formation of either an independent commission or a commission led by Supreme Court judge – along with members of Military Intelligence (MI) and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) – to probe into allegations of alleged rigging in the May 2013 general election.

Although the PML-N leaders Ishaq Dar and Pervaiz Rashid have rejected Imran’s fresh demand, they have asked the PTI to resume talks from where they were broken off. The two parties’ negotiation teams had ended their talks over issue of Terms of Reference (TORs) for judicial commission to probe into the alleged rigging.

The government is of the view that PTI should restart talks on TORs for the commission which Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has requested the Supreme Court to form. The government says that it can neither direct the apex court on the selection of judges nor request it to include officials of spy agencies.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Federal Information Minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid said in spite of the government’s offer, the PTI has not yet approached them for resumption of talks.

“We will openly talk with Imran Khan’s team, whenever they will contact us,” he said, adding that the PTI’s team was puzzled over how to resume talks as last time it was they who walked out of it.

On the other hand, Imran Khan and other senior PTI leaders have also decided to start talks with the government after the November 30 rally, sources in the PTI said.

The PTI believes that before November 30, negotiation will not be fruitful and government will not accept the PTI’s demand for formation of a judicial commission including representatives of the MI and ISI, they said.

Sources said the party believes the November 30 public rally will force the government to accept the PTI’s terms and conditions.

However, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq – who is busy in his upcoming three-day (November 21-23) gathering in Lahore –  will try to bring both government and the PTI to negotiation table before November 30, they said.  Sources in both the parties said that even if they resumed talks before the rally, the talks would remain informal and non-serious. Meanwhile, the PTI chief has announced that his movement against government will not remain peaceful after November 30.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2014.