ISLAMABAD: We have decided not to immediately enter negotiations with the government, senior Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi said.

The party decided that the foremost fundamental condition to enter talks was that Nawaz Sharif steps down, adding that no dialogue can be initiated before the resignation.

Earlier, Qureshi had said that the PTI was willing to sit at the negotiating table with the government.

He had said that the party had agreed to hold talks with the government over its grievances in relation to alleged rigging in the 2013 general elections.

Speaking to DawnNews via telephone, Qureshi had said: "We discussed amongst ourselves that if it comes to talks what our position will be... The aim is to come out of this deadlock.”

“We wish the government had taken our demands seriously before,” the PTI leader had said.

"Our strategy is clear, we want to strengthen democracy and not derail it as opposed to the impression that is being given."

He had added that the PTI had a six point agenda which will be put forth on the negotiating table but refused to discuss it in the media.


PTI’s six demands


PTI’s media advisor Faisal Vawda told Dawn that the PTI’s six demands to the government include:

1) Resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

2) Electoral reforms

3) Disbanding and reconstitution of the Election Commission of Pakistan

4) Recounting votes on certain constituencies

5) Action against those involved in rigging in the 2013 general elections

6) Resignation of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif

Opinion

Editorial

A turbulent 2023
Updated 12 May, 2024

A turbulent 2023

Govt must ensure judiciary's independence, respect for democratic processes, and protection for all citizens against abuse of power.
A moral victory
12 May, 2024

A moral victory

AS the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted on Friday in favour of granting Palestine greater rights at the...
Hope after defeat
12 May, 2024

Hope after defeat

ON Saturday, having fallen behind Japan in the first quarter of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final, Pakistan showed...
Taxing pensions
Updated 11 May, 2024

Taxing pensions

Tax reforms have failed to deliver because of distortions created by the FBR bureaucracy through SROs, apparently for personal gains.
Orwellian slide
11 May, 2024

Orwellian slide

IN recent years, Pakistan has made several attempts at introducing an overarching mechanism through which to check...
Terror against girls
11 May, 2024

Terror against girls

ONCE again, the ogre of terrorism is seeking the sacrifice of schoolgirls. On Wednesday, just days after the...