Sharif's party refuses to hold 'conditional talks' with Imran Khan

Tariq Butt, Correspondent / IANS

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has refused to accept any demand of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) prior to sitting with it on the negotiation table on the initiation of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq.

Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has said that there would be no negotiations with the PTI, a day after Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman announced that neither his party — the Jamiat-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) — nor any other constituent of the ruling alliance would hold talks with it.

SIrajul Haq is trying to arrange talks on the question of holding the next elections. He has made it clear that the polls to the national assembly and all the provincial assemblies will be held on the same day and not as the PTI wants.

The PTI has demanded of the government to release its detained leaders and workers and withdraw cases against them including Imran Khan. However, the PML-N says it is not willing to give any "NRO” (amnesty) to the PTI against the Constitution and law.

The stance of the PML-N, which is a main part of the PDM, has emerged on the heels of Haq’s separate meetings with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Imran Khan that were seen as a major thaw in political tensions.

The Jamaat-e-Islami plans to hold an all parties conference (APC) after Eidul Fitr. However, Haq’s efforts are unlikely to see any worthwhile progress because of the bitterness between the PML-N and PTI.

After more than a year of simmering political tensions between the PML-N and PTI, it seems the ice has started melting with both sides forming panels to engage in indirect dialogue, an earlier report of the IANS said.

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Now, both parties — instead of engaging in a direct dialogue — will route their talks through the JI.

In a positive response to the "consensus offensive" of the JI, the PML-N tasked Ayaz Sadiq and Saad Rafique to hold talks while the PTI formed a three-member panel com­prising Pervez Khattak, Mehmoodur Rashid, and Ejaz Chaudhry for the task.

Shahbaz Sharif speaks to the media. File photo

Sources in PML-N said Sadiq and Saad Rafique were given a go-ahead to approach the JI for talks.

However, the PTI also reiterated its stance of seeking date for polls, Dawn reported.

Senator Ejaz Chaudhry said PTI had begun consultations to take all opposition parties into confidence over elections across the country. He said PTI has already had meetings with the JI, Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakis­tan (TLP), and the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA).

"We have met and urged all political parties (outside ruling coalition) to join hands and put up resistance against the PDM that is avoiding elections," he added.