January 3, 2025
By Rana Malhi
ISLAMABAD
The second meeting of the Government-Opposition negotiation committee took place on Thursday at the Parliament House under the chairmanship of Speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister, Senator Ishaq Dar; Advisor to the Prime Minister, Rana Sanaullah; Senator Irfan Siddiqui; former Speaker of the National Assembly, Raja Pervez Ashraf; Federal Minister for Privatisation, Abdul Aleem Khan; and members of the National Assembly (MNAs) Syed Naveed Qamar, Dr. Farooq Sattar, Ijazul Haq and Khalid Hussain Magsi, who represented the Government.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) representatives in the negotiation committee included Opposition Leader, Omar Ayub Khan; Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur; former Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser; MNA Sahibzada Hamid Raza; Senator Raja Nasir Abbas; and lawyer Salman Akram Raja.
In a statement issued after the meeting, PTI provided that it had demanded the release of party leaders as well as workers, including its founding chairman Imran Khan before the negotiation committee, as well as the formation of a judicial commission to inquire into the events that unfolded on May 9, 2023 and on November 26, 2024.
Speaking to the media, Rana Sanaullah stated that the PTI were rather positive during the meeting, which indicates that they are serious about negotiations. Regarding the decision of the Army Court of Appeals to grant clemency to 19 PTI workers convicted for their role in the May 9 riots, Sanaullah asserted that the development is not a result of the ongoing negotiations.
“It is the decision of the Army Chief. It was made according to [the military court’s] procedure of handing down sentences as well as granting concessions to convicts,” he said.
Irfan Siddiqui provided that once the PTI submits its official list of demands in written-form, they will be subject to review.
“Once we have their Charter of Demands in written form, we will thoroughly review them in light of the Constitution, law and mores as to what can and cannot be agreed upon,” he stated. “It will take us a week or so once we receive their demands to decide our next step forward.”
Ali Amin Gandapur concurred with Sanaullah’s view, stating that the government appears to be willing to find a resolution through negotiation.
“The fact that the Government is here on the negotiating table means that they are here with the approval of the establishment,” he posited.
Hamid Raza reiterated that the party expects to secure Imran Khan’s release through legal means, not through any deal.
“We put forward the matter of Khan’s release, and Mr. Omar Ayub categorically stated that the PTI will acquire relief via the courts, not through any undertaking with the Government,” he said. “Imran Khan is our top priority in our agenda, but only through constitutional and legal struggle. We do not want the Government to politically victimise [the PTI] and trap it in more cases. The prosecution should not oppose the bail of those workers whose trials have concluded and are pending verdict.”
The third round of talks between the Government and the Opposition will be announced next week after consultations.