Information Minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid cast fresh doubts on Sunday on the possibility of the government resuming dialogue with Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) less than 24 hours before the opposition party begins its Faisalabad shutdown plan.
Senator Rashid argued that since the government had already written a letter to the Supreme Court (SC) to form a judicial commission to audit the May 2013 elections and investigate rigging charges there was nothing left to discuss with the PTI.
“The government on 13 August wrote a letter to the Supreme Court to form a judicial commission to probe PTI’s allegation of rigging in the previous election. Now what issues remain for the government to talk with the PTI?” questioned Senator Rashid.
According to him, Imran Khan’s attitude has left no option for the government to resume talks with the PTI. At his press conference on Sunday, Imran announced that he would not accept the judicial commission’s report if he finds it against his wishes.
“What is the need for a judicial commission now that the PTI chief has announced that he won’t not accept any result that goes against his party?” he asked. He claimed that if Imran Khan is serious to have to an inquiry from a judicial commission then he has “to first announce cancellation of all his plans and end his sit-in in Islamabad”.
Senator Rashid also appeared to lay out the ground rules for the talks. Imran should announce that his party will neither stage a sit-in nor take out rallies in the country, but instead sit at the negotiating table”.
He pointed out that previously Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had led the government’s body for talks but Imran called back his team. “It is Imran who should change his attitude.”
Moreover, PM Nawaz Sharif, who returned from his UK visit Saturday night, held a meeting with the finance minister and other senior party leaders. They suggested that the government should start talks with the PTI after consultations with the parliamentary leaders of various political parties in the National Assembly.
He said that Imran’s attempt to lock down Faisalabad is bound to fail, citing how his earlier plans had flopped. Faisalabad, according to him, will remain open on December 8 and function normally.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 8th, 2014.
COMMENTS (16)
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@Raghu: For re count , he has to ask tribunals and convince them with initail evidence that it is indeed warranted . It has nothing to do woth p[arliament . He went to tribunal for the first time two days ago and stated that he has no evidence , personal , written or any ey witness at all. If re count is justified like that then it will be chaos. However rigging on mass scale allegations are a differrent matter. It needs to be investigated if such planned rigging occured and how , whose behest and who benefitted and who lost due to it. I am positive that IK doesnt want thgis kind of investigation . Wake up my friend and face the facts ,
@lol
LOL at you. Which Lahore you are talking about? DO you actually live in Lahore? Do you know places like walled city, Ichra, Northern Lahore, Gulberg, Johar Town? When PTI sit ins continued even in one place of Lahore, it was business at usual in all other places.
Lahore is no one's personal property. The PTI mob is just supported by directionless youth who has time to attend its useless sit ins coz they really don't know how to spend their time.
PML-N support is there and is deep rooted in Lahore. You cannot impose your ideology sans vision on anyone. And you are not everybody! #RO IMRAN RO
@Liaqat Ali: Were you in deep slumber when IK was asking for vote recount on the floor of the parliament. Our Pakistanis has a problem of short term memory loss.
....the government had to take the initiative ....and not PTI. The hard line being followed by the government is certainly not the way forward.
PML-N is the government and combination of corrupt people elected by the rigging this is why PML-N is using delaying tactics and showing dishonesty and insincerity in the elections' rigging to secure Sharif brothers from prosecution and conviction and this is PML-N track record proves that PML-N never completed its tenure and the same history is going to repeat once again this time......
PML-N is the government and combination of corrupt people elected by the rigging this is why PML-N is using delaying tactics and showing dishonesty and insincerity in the elections' rigging to secure Sharif brothers from prosecution and conviction......
I dont think IK wants a legitimate enquiry into the rigging allegations . He knows only how to try to blaickmail govt into submission. He will fail. or must accept Govt offer of enquiry if massive planned rigging happened or not? Didnt he fail to produce a single shred of evidence to support his allegations in his own NA 122?.He said he was in hospital but where is the other evidence ?
The final days of Imran Khan's politics is coming near. When you talk before you think, trouble always follows. All the government has to do is let Imran Khan commit political suicide. PTI is already seeking a way out by literally begging the government to hold talks.
This is unfortunate that the government is linking dialogue with sitins ? this shows they want to follow the path of collision with those who seek justice from the system. if the protesting people dont,t get justice from the system, they will loose faith in the system.
If IK is so unpopular & Pakistanis are against him then i wonder why most of Lahore was out on 5 days notice at minar-e-Pakistan? Deluded PMLN & it's handful supporters need to come out of their self created dreamland, Pakistanis are out against PMLN who stole our votes! Reelection is inevitable, by prolonging this issue & delaying vote audit, PMLN is now evidently the guilty party! The more they're going to drag this issue the better it'll be for PTI as they gain more popularity. #GoNawazGo
This is an illegitimate govt - ruling on a fake mandate not very different from the illegitimate governments of the past that ruled because they just could; obviously those unelected rulers of the past were able to create technical reasons for their rule.
The Unions are against this so IK will never succeed.
Imran had confessed that if he stopped his anarchist activities, he would have nothing to do in the evenings. Therefore before asking him to stop this nonsense, government should arrange some activity for him.
After the press conference, Senator Rashid left huffing and puffing in his brand new Water Car presented to him by Einstein Hamid Mir.
Why haven't the spineless Imran Niazi and Jehsghir Tarin taken Pervaiz Rasheed to court over the "allegation" of misuse of a corporate jet owned by a sugar company ?? What are they waiting for???