KARACHI, May 7: Leaders of the Treasury and Opposition benches in the City Council have agreed to meet on Tuesday to resolve the present impasse arising out of the unpleasant incident of April 26, it was learnt here.

Opposition leaders said that they had never opposed the idea of holding talks, as they believed that negotiations were part of the democratic process, provided that these were meaningful and there should be an assurance that such incidents would never happen in the future.

“We want that all issues, including the security of our colleagues, should be discussed with an open heart,” said one of the Opposition leaders.

Treasury leaders also admitted they were trying to find an amicable solution to the present deadlock, saying that despite being in the majority, they always desired to run the house with mutual consent and wanted the Opposition members to be present in the budget session.

They also agreed that initial contacts had been made with the Opposition and a breakthrough had occurred.

When contacted, Opposition leader Saeed Ghani admitted that he was contacted by the Naib Nazim, Nasreen Jalil, who is also convenor of the house, regarding the forthcoming session of the council.

He said he would consult his colleagues about the agenda of the talks and that it was premature to say anything at this stage.

Mr Ghani dispelled the impression that the Opposition was averse to talks.

In a related development, Ms Jalil has adjourned the meeting of the investigation committee set up by her to conduct a probe into the incident of April 26.

The meeting was scheduled for Monday. But due to the absence of two Opposition members — Gadap Town Nazim Mir Ismail Brohi and Abdul Rashid Beg — it was postponed and will now meet on May 10.

The meeting was held at the Naib Nazim’s secretariat. Other members of the committee — Mohammad Ismail, Ahsan Ahmed Siddiqui and Dr Nikat Shakil — were also present.