LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Sirajul Haq and opposition jirga member Rehman Malik have renewed efforts to bring the ruling PML-N and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf to the negotiation table before Imran Khan starts implementing his ‘Plan C’ to shut down different cities next week.

Mr Malik called on Mr Haq at the JI’s Mansoora headquarters on Monday and they agreed to hold meetings with government functionaries and the PTI leadership so that they could resume talks to resolve the political crisis.

The Jamaat chief warned the government against wasting time.

“The government should not wait for another round of agitation by the PTI because it will not be good for the country,” he said. “We have re-launched efforts to bring the government and the PTI to the negotiation table. We want them to resume negotiations where they had collapsed.”

The JI chief said the political jirga had arranged 37 rounds of meetings between the government, PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehreek of Dr Tahirul Qadri. However, he regretted, the government had not taken the matter seriously.

Endorsing the PTI’s demands, Mr Haq said that next elections should not be held without electoral reforms.

“People are losing interest in the ballot. The government has not yet fulfilled its commitment of forming a judicial commission to probe allegations of rigging in the 2013 elections. Besides, no effort has been made for electoral reforms and reconstitution of the Election Commission and that is why the political crisis has prolonged,” he said.

Mr Malik said both the government and the PTI had hinted at resuming talks.

“Although we do not have any constitutional mandate, we will make efforts to bring the government and the PTI to the negotiation table,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2014