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‘Disagreement’ among ruling allies over negotiations with PTI

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  • Bilawal says closing door for talks against his party’s principles.
  • Meeting ends without reaching consensus on talks with PTI.
  • PML-N’s Javed Latif says no to negotiations with Imran-led PTI.

ISLAMABAD: The ruling allies have hit a snag over holding talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), sources told Geo News Tuesday, after Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) bid to bring both sides to the negotiation table.

The coalition partners — an alliance of 13 political parties in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) — met in Islamabad after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting on the country’s political situation and the JI’s negotiation efforts.

During the meeting, a disagreement took place among the parties in the coalition government over holding talks with the opposition party as some believed that PTI Chairman Imran Khan could not be trusted, while others insisted that political forces should not shut channels for negotiations.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari stressed holding dialogue with the opposition, with Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Balochistan National Party, Balochistan Awami Party, Chaudhry Salik, and Mohsin Dawar backing him, sources said.

The PPP chairman said closing the door for talks is against his party’s principles and “undemocratic”.

“It is the need of the hour that the path of dialogue be adopted and the country taken out of the crisis,” Bilawal said.

But representatives of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and the Jamhoori Wattan Party (JWP) rejected Bilawal’s opinion and said that it isn’t in the coalition’s interests to hold talks with the deposed prime minister — who was ousted from the office via a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly in April last year.

“Imran Khan isn’t a political force; we oppose holding dialogue with him,” the JUI-F opined, while JWP’s Shahzain Bugti said that his party did not oppose talks but “Imran is a liar”.

Bugti added that the PTI chairman is “untrustworthy”.

The meeting ended without reaching a consensus on the matter of holding dialogue, the sources added.

PM Shehbaz, FM Bilawal meeting

PPP Chairman Bilawal also called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Radio Pakistan reported. Bilawal apprised the premier of his ministry’s affairs.

The two leaders discussed the country’s political situation during the meeting.

‘Be a bridge, not a wall’

Separately, leaders of the PPP and the MQM-P called for a dialogue among political parties to bring political and economic stability.

Senior PPP leader and former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani said politicians should “play the role of a bridge, not a wall”. He addressed the media alongside fellow party leaders — Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar and Adviser to Prime Minister on Kashmir Affairs Qamar Zaman Kaira — and MQM-P leaders in Islamabad.

“The PPP wants to make a conducive environment for dialogue among the political parties as we believe all problems being faced by the county can only be addressed through dialogue,” Gillani added.

He said the PPP would approach the JUI-F in this regard.

Meanwhile, MQM-P leader Abu Bakar said his party would support the PPP to strengthen the country’s democracy.

‘No negotiations with Imran-led PTI’

Meanwhile, a day earlier, PML-N leader Javed Latif said that while the majority of the party leadership is in favour of holding negotiations with “second-tier” PTI leadership, including Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Pervaiz Khattak, it is against talks with the “miscreant in Zaman Park”.

“Negotiating with a miscreant like Imran Khan, who is responsible for causing unbearable price hikes, rampant poverty, and economic destruction, is not in the interest of Pakistanis,” he said at a press conference in Islamabad. 

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Response from PTI to PM Shehbaz regarding party protests

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PTI spokesperson: The government is attempting to deflect criticism away from its “failures,” the spokesperson stated in a statement.

The PTI spokesperson said, “The mandate thieves are just skilled at making pronouncements; in reality, they are obsessed with inflaming tensions between provinces and persecuting people.

All Pakistanis are aware, he continued, that “vote manipulation” was the means by which this regime was elected. “To defend their rights, democracy, and an independent judiciary, the people are now taking to the streets.”

In addition to pledging to resist what the party referred to as “injustices,” the PTI spokesperson stated that the country is committed to preserving Pakistan’s future.

PM Shehbaz claimed earlier in his speech to the federal cabinet that Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is “leading” the group of sabotage agents, which is made up of Afghan citizens, and it is utilizing government employees.

Ali Amin Gandapur is ‘guiding’ the protests, the prime minister stated, while the government is working to stabilize the economy and launch its own economic initiative.

One Islamabad Police official was martyred during the rally, and protesters allegedly fired from the air, according to PM Shehbaz. It is natural that investment will draw in a calm and safe environment, he said.

Regarding the PTI demonstration, the prime minister stated that attempts were made to incite unrest at a time when the Chinese Premier was scheduled to undertake a bilateral visit along with a Saudi team, and accusations were made against the government.

While comparing the PTI’s recent protest to the party’s 2014 sit-in, Prime Minister Shehbaz declared that a “gory tale” recurrence would not be permitted at all.

“Such situations are a recurrence of the events that occurred in 2014–2015, when a sit-in was organized for months and was not called off despite the Chinese president’s visit to Pakistan being announced without consideration for the consequences for the people and economy of the country. That won’t be permitted to happen again. Under any circumstances, we will not put up with it. I guarantee you of this. The prime minister pledged, “I will not allow it to happen.”

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APC Regarding Palestine: Deputy Prime Minister Invites JUI-F Leader to Join APC on Palestine

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JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman has been asked by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar to attend the All Parties Conference, which is being held today to discuss the Palestine problem and is being hosted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The leader of JUI-F and a high-ranking delegation from coalition partners met with the deputy prime minister at his home.

Khawaja Saad Rafique, Naveed Qamar, Sherry Rehman, and Nayyer Hussain Bukhari were among the delegation members.

Muhammad Aslam Ghori, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidari, and Maulana Salahuddin Ayubi took part in the meeting as well.

The discussion at the conference also covered the nation’s overall political predicament.

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PTI founder prohibited from meeting family and lawyers

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The jail authorities have cited security concerns as the rationale for this prohibition.

Sources indicated that the Punjab government’s prohibition on meetings will be effective till October 18 and will extend to additional inmates at Adiala Jail.

Security agents have intensified investigations and apprehended six additional members of the jail staff for facilitating the PTI founder.

Sources indicated that the incarcerated personnel of the prison also comprised three women. “The apprehended prison staff comprises a janitor, two female wardens, and three CCTV surveillance operators,” sources reported.

Security agents have confiscated the employees’ cell phones. “Female employees were communicating messages between Bushra Bibi and the founder of PTI,” sources reported.

Former Adiala Jail Deputy Superintendent Zafar Iqbal has recently returned home following his detention on allegations of assisting former Prime Minister Imran Khan, according to sources.

Sources indicate that Zafar Iqbal was apprehended on August 13 for interrogation over his assistance to Imran Khan while incarcerated.

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