• NA speaker meets premier, interior minister as govt mulls next steps
• PM briefed on PTI’s abrupt withdrawal after three rounds of talks
• Naqvi commends Sadiq for ‘bringing together govt, opposition parties’

ISLAMABAD / LAHORE: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Sunday after Mr Sadiq’s meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and discussed the scenario following the collapse of government negotiations with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

A source in the government told Dawn that the prime minister was advised to dissolve the dialogue committee formed to negotiate with PTI.

The opposition party had boycotted the talks after the government failed to meet its demands, which included the formation of two separate judicial commissions to probe the May 9, 2023, and Nov 26, 2024, incidents, as well as the release of jailed PTI leaders and workers.

However, PM Shehbaz has not yet issued formal orders to dissolve the committee, which has remained inactive since PTI withdrew from the talks.

“We have requested the PM to dissolve the committee, as it was formed by him. We believe the PTI will not sit for talks in the near future as it has again adopted its previous strategy to hold street protests for the fulfilment of its demands,” Sena­tor Irfan Siddiqui, the committee’s spokesperson, told Dawn.

“The PM has so far not dissolved the committee even though it is not functional anymore,” he added.

The premier visited Mr Sadiq’s residence in Lahore on Sunday. The meeting was also attended by NA Deputy Spea­ker Ghulam Mustafa Shah and MNAs Khursheed Shah and Shazia Marri, among others.

While the meeting was officially to congratulate the deputy speaker on his son’s wedding, sources suggest that discussions also centred on the stalled dialogue process with the PTI.

The prime minister was briefed on PTI’s abrupt withdrawal from the talks after three rounds of discussions. The opposition party had issued a seven-day ultimatum for forming judicial commissions, which was not met, leading to their decision to boycott further negotiations.

The talks between the PML-N-led government and PTI began in late December to ease political tensions but saw little progress on major issues.

After PTI threatened to quit the negotiations over the judicial commission issue, PM Shehbaz had offered to form a parliamentary committee three days ago to keep the talks intact. However, PTI rejected the proposal.

The prime minister also highlighted Pakistan’s improving economic indicators, citing growing investor confidence and collabor­ation between federal and provincial governments to address public welfare concerns.

Mohsin-Ayaz meeting

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also met the National Assembly speaker in Islamabad on Sunday to discuss PTI’s “attitude” in the failed dialogue process and the country’s overall political situation.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Interior, the two leaders expressed disappointment over PTI’s role despite what they called the government’s positive efforts to facilitate negotiations.

The interior minister lauded Mr Sadiq’s efforts in taking along “opposition and government parties together”, the statement added. “Ayaz Sadiq has played a commendable role in bringing together the government and opposition parties,” Mr Naqvi was quoted as saying.

The negotiation teams representing both sides comprised multiple political parties.

The government team included representatives from PML-N, PPP, MQM-P, PML-Z and Balochistan Awami Party.

The opposition team featured members of PTI, Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen and Sunni Ittehad Council.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2025