Govt, PTI resume in-camera talks on Jan 2

ISLAMABAD - The government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf [PTI], in a second round of talks, will hold a parlay on January 2, in which the former will present a set of demands including release of jailed party workers and former prime minister Imran Khan. The representatives from both sides will formally deliberate on a set of demands, as PTI will share their demands in writing to the government members. Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, in this regard, has formally called an in-camera meeting to break the stalemate between the government and the PTI.

“Speaker National Assembly will chair a 2nd meeting (in-camera) on negotiations between the Treasury and Opposition on Thursday, the 2nd January, 2025 at 11:30am” at the Parliament House,” says a notification issued here on Monday. This will be the second meeting between the negotiating parties, discussing the PTI’s demands to release the jailed party workers and the formation of a judicial commission to probe the events of May 9, 2023 and November 26. 600 ev buses to be bought to improve transport system Political and constitutional experts viewed that the negotiations are the last resort to resolve issues.



In the past, the government side had repeatedly asked the PTI for initiating the dialogue but the PTI flatly refused this offer. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a couple of months ago, on the floor of the National Assembly had invited the opposition for dialogue but leader of opposition Omar Ayub refused to initiate talks. Former prime minister Imran Khan, on a number of times, had also given the impression that they didn’t want to indulge in dialogue with the government.

They said it would be ‘too early to predict’ about the results of the ongoing talks. In a relevant development, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq a couple of days ago had commented that the charter of economy should be discussed during the negotiations between the government and the opposition. It is up to the government and the opposition to pick up the topic to the talks.

Despite the differences, there is a need to hold talks, said the experts. Ahsan Iqbal urges civil servants to play role in shaping country’s future The government committee included Ishaq Dar, Irfan Siddiqui and Rana Sanaullah, while Abdul Aleem Khan, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Naveed Qamar, and Dr. Farooq Sattar were also part of the discussions.

Representing PTI, Asad Qaiser, Raja Ansar Abbas, and Hamid Raza participated. Asad Qaiser explained that other PTI members could not attend the talks due to the court cases abroad. Meanwhile, the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has decided not to include the reversal of 26th Amendment in its list of demands.

The party of former prime minister Imran Khan once again made it clear that they had two primarily demands, including release of political prisoners and formation of a judicial commission to investigate violent incidents of May 9 and November 26. While talking to reporters at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, incarcerated leader Imran Khan said they would not make reversal of 26th Amendment part of their charter of demands because this was a lengthy process. UAE envoy, Punjab Governor discuss ways to expand bilateral relations Separately, former speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser while talking to reporters in Islamabad said that the party had two major demands including release of political prisoners, specifically Imran Khan, and formation of a judicial commission.

He said that these demands would be put before the government team when both sides would meet on January 2. Tags: govt pti resume.