• NA speaker meets premier, interior minister as govt mulls next steps
• PM briefed on PTI’s abrupt withdrawal after three rounds of talks
• Naqvi commends Sadiq for ‘bringing together govt, opposition parties’
ISLAMABAD / LAHORE: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Sunday after Mr Sadiq’s meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and discussed the scenario following the collapse of government negotiations with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).
A source in the government told Dawn that the prime minister was advised to dissolve the dialogue committee formed to negotiate with PTI.
The opposition party had boycotted the talks after the government failed to meet its demands, which included the formation of two separate judicial commissions to probe the May 9, 2023, and Nov 26, 2024, incidents, as well as the release of jailed PTI leaders and workers.
However, PM Shehbaz has not yet issued formal orders to dissolve the committee, which has remained inactive since PTI withdrew from the talks.
“We have requested the PM to dissolve the committee, as it was formed by him. We believe the PTI will not sit for talks in the near future as it has again adopted its previous strategy to hold street protests for the fulfilment of its demands,” Senator Irfan Siddiqui, the committee’s spokesperson, told Dawn.
“The PM has so far not dissolved the committee even though it is not functional anymore,” he added.
The premier visited Mr Sadiq’s residence in Lahore on Sunday. The meeting was also attended by NA Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah and MNAs Khursheed Shah and Shazia Marri, among others.
While the meeting was officially to congratulate the deputy speaker on his son’s wedding, sources suggest that discussions also centred on the stalled dialogue process with the PTI.
The prime minister was briefed on PTI’s abrupt withdrawal from the talks after three rounds of discussions. The opposition party had issued a seven-day ultimatum for forming judicial commissions, which was not met, leading to their decision to boycott further negotiations.
The talks between the PML-N-led government and PTI began in late December to ease political tensions but saw little progress on major issues.
After PTI threatened to quit the negotiations over the judicial commission issue, PM Shehbaz had offered to form a parliamentary committee three days ago to keep the talks intact. However, PTI rejected the proposal.
The prime minister also highlighted Pakistan’s improving economic indicators, citing growing investor confidence and collaboration between federal and provincial governments to address public welfare concerns.
