ISLAMABAD: Speaking to media representatives after conclusion of Friday's talks with the government, PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the dialogue process will continue on Saturday.

“In first round of talks, the PTI delegation presented a six-point charter of demands to the government’s delegation. Today, both the sides have listened to each other’s reservations and now will meet tomorrow (on Saturday),” he said.

Qureshi, Javed Hashmi, CM KP Pervaiz Khattak, Asad Umer, Arif Alvi and Jahangir Tareen represented the PTI in talks with the government which took place at an undisclosed location in Islamabad.

The government delegation comprised of Governor Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, Ahsan Iqbal, Pervaiz Rashid and Dr Abdul Qadir Baloch.

PTI President Makhdoom Javed Hashmi told the government delegation that PM Nawaz Sharif should nominate someone else from the PML-N for the post after resigning as the prime minister, DawnNews reported.

He also reportedly said that a ‘PhD’ was required to understand Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

The developments Friday came hours after PTI lawmakers submitted their resignations from the National Assembly.

The PTI, which leads the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has been engaged in protests and sit-ins against the Nawaz government over alleged rigging in the 2013 general elections.

PTI is demanding electoral reforms and a change in the election commission, and the resignation of the prime minister.

Following the party’s core committee meeting on Friday, television channels quoted PTI leader Naeemul Haq as saying that it was possible that the prime minister could depart on a long leave until a probe into electoral rigging was completed.

Haq said that the core committee discussed matters in detail with legal advisors.

“The constitution allows the prime minister to go on a long leave,” he was quoted as saying. “We hope we will meet the government delegation soon.”

Meanwhile, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq told reporters in Faisalabad that things were looking brighter now and that there were chances that issues might be resolved through dialogue.

He urged National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq not to accept resignations of PTI MNAs.

Ready for KP re-polls if opposition gathers this many people: Imran

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday evening reiterated his willingness to hold re-elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa given the opposition in the province, where his party rules, manage to gather as many people as currently present in his ‘Azadi sit-in’.

Speaking to his supporters here, he said his opponents in KP, Awami National Party (ANP), Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) would not be able to gather even 10 per cent of the participants of his rally in the federal capital.

The PTI chief challenged his opponents that the PTI will emerge victorious with even more votes than before if re-polls are held in KP.

Khan dared Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to play a ‘match’ against him. “Nawaz Sharif you hold re-elections in the country and I will do the same in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said.

The cricketer-turned-politician, however, said that the re-elections should be held under ‘neutral empire’.

ANP will not be part of any unconstitutional move: Asfandyar

Awami National Party (ANP) President Asfandyar Wali Khan said on Friday that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri would be held responsible if democracy was derailed and martial law imposed in the country.

Addressing the party workers in Swabi, he said there was no mention of technocratic or national government in the Constitution and that ANP would not be part of any unconstitutional move.

He advised Imran Khan to show patience and avoid undemocratic ways to become the prime minister.

While criticising Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak, Wali said that women and children were dying in the acts of terrorism and floods in the province while the chief minister was “dancing in the procession.”

The ANP chief said people were losing their lives as a result of torrential rains in Peshawar but PTI continues to be more concerned about ‘four constituencies’. – APP