Pakistan govt forms committee to negotiate with jailed former PM Imran Khan’s party – ThePrint – PTIFeed

Islamabad, Dec 22 (PTI) Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif-led government on Sunday formed a negotiating committee to begin formal negotiations with jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, after threatened to launch an appeal to civil justice. disobedience.

According to a government statement, the committee includes Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Prime Minister’s political aide Rana Sanaullah, Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Privatization Minister Aleem Khan , Minister of Religious Affairs Chaudhry Salik Hussain and Senator Irfan Siddiqui. others.

“We view the formation of the committee as a constructive step. A meaningful dialogue based on positive intentions should take place,” said Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, PTI Chairman.

He stressed that potential negotiations should have a defined timetable, adding that the dialogue must progress in a positive manner given the sensitivity of the situation.

National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq took the lead by announcing on Wednesday that he was ready to welcome the two sides and facilitate their talks.

He welcomed the newly constituted committee and invited the government and opposition for talks, saying that “the office of the president is always open for members,” according to a statement issued by the NA Secretariat.

The president called on members of the two committees to meet on Monday morning, adding that he would meet them in his chambers at Parliament.

PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram said his party had accepted the president’s invitation to meet. He said their committee would attend Monday’s meeting.

Akram said the PTI founder will be informed about the progress of the meeting and will decide whether to call off the civil disobedience movement.

The talks are taking place after the PTI threatened to call for civil disobedience.

The party published on here Sunday.

“I had presented two requests to the government, the release of political prisoners currently on trial and the creation of a judicial commission responsible for a transparent investigation into the events of May 9, 2023 and November 26, 2024,” quoted the founder of the PTI, Khan. . He further stated that both of these demands “are legitimate.”

“If the government takes no action on them by Sunday, the first phase of the civil disobedience movement – ​​the ‘boycott of remittances’ – will be launched,” the statement said.

PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram also reiterated that the civil disobedience campaign would be launched tomorrow (Monday) if the party’s demands are not met.

However, the issue of civil disobedience was apparently suspended for a time, allowing both sides to resolve their differences through political means.

Khan, 72, had warned on December 5 of a civil disobedience movement starting December 14 if his demands for the release of political prisoners facing trial and the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the events of December 9 May 2023 and November 26 of this year were not satisfied.

Separately, Pakistani military courts sentenced 25 civilians to prison terms ranging from two to 10 years for attacking military installations during riots that broke out after Khan’s arrest in May last year, it said. Saturday the army.

On May 9, 2023, Khan’s PTI supporters reportedly attacked several military installations, including the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and the ISI building in Faisalabad, to vent their anger over the arrest of their party founder in a corruption case.

Hundreds of suspects were arrested in the nationwide operation and at least 103 of them were handed over to military authorities for trial for their involvement in attacks on military installations.

Khan’s party has launched several protests in 2023 and 2024 to demand the release of its supreme leader, with the latest taking place in November 2024.

The former prime minister, currently incarcerated at Adiala Prison in Rawalpindi, was arrested in August last year and is facing multiple cases since his government was toppled in April 2022. PTI SH GSP GSP

This report is automatically generated from PTI news service. ThePrint assumes no responsibility for its content.