Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday said the government has formed a subcommittee to prepare a written response on the PTI’s formal demands amid ongoing negotiations to bring down the political temperature.

The PTI and the government are currently engaged in talks to bring down political temperatures. After two rounds of meetings, the third round was held last week in which the PTI formally presented its demands in writing.

Despite weeks of negotiations, the dialogue process has hardly moved forward on major issues — the formation of a judicial commission and the release of PTI prisoners. The government assured the PTI of a response to the opposition’s charter of demands within seven working days a day ago after the party warned it would boycott the next round of talks if judicial commissions were not formed to probe the May 9 and Nov 26 incidents. A government committee was formed to deliberate on the PTI’s demands.

Speaking to reporters in Islamabad today after a meeting of the committee at Parliament House, Sanaullah said: “A subcommittee has been formed that will form a response to the PTI’s charter of demands.”

He said the response would be submitted in written form to the PTI.

Sanaullah added that any answers to questions the reporters were asking him regarding the formation of judicial commissions would be found in the response.

Meanwhile, Senator Irfan Siddiqui said the discussions were fruitful, and the government would respond to the opposition’s charter of demands within seven working days.

While responding to a reporter’s question, the PML-N leader emphasised that a fourth meeting had been decided on when the third one concluded.

“Till now we have only read [the opposition’s] charter of demands, and we have not formed an opinion on it yet,” he said.

He added that he hoped the PTI would attend the fourth round of talks.

Separately, PTI Chairman Barrister Ali Gohar reiterated the party’s threat while speaking to reporters today. He said there was no restriction as such on judicial commissions for cases and matters already being taken up in courts, referring to various examples from India such as the Bombay and Gujrat riots.

He said if the government indicated that it would form a judicial commission on the events of May 9, 2023, then PTI founder Imran Khan’s instructions were to cooperate and his word was the final word.

“If the government says it will make [the commissions] then we will go but if not then there will be no session,” he said on a 4th round of talks.

The PML-N-led coalition and the PTI have accused each other of derailing the negotiations and lacking seriousness. A highly demanded meeting of the PTI team with Imran in Adiala jail on January 12 paved the way for a third round of talks.

However, tempers flared again in recent days with the government and opposition lawmakers assailing each other’s parties in the National Assembly and Senate.