KARACHI: As a Supreme Court deadline for political parties to develop a consensus on an election date looms, winds of change started blowing over the political scene late in the night on Wednesday after the PTI chairman formed a three-member committee to hold talks with the government and two senior ministers contacted the Senate chairman to play his role in bridging the divide.

The committee set up by former prime minister Imran Khan comprised PTI’s Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Senior Vice President Fawad Hussain Chaudhry and Senator Ali Zafar.

Separately, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique met Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani and asked him to form a committee comprising five senators each from the government and opposition sides, government sources said.

The ministers also asked Mr Sanjrani that the committee should be given space in the parliament for discussions.

The Senate chairman will now write a letter to the opposition and inform the opposition about the government’s proposal, the sources said, adding that he had already contacted the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Dr Shahzad Waseem and PTI’s Secretary General Asad Umar.

PML-N’s Sardar Ayaz Sadiq was also consulting with other parties on the matter, the sources said.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2023