LAHORE: The federal gove­r­nment has accepted PPP Chair­man Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s offer to initiate a dialogue with Imran Khan’s PTI to evolve consensus to fight terrorism.

“The government has no objections if Bilawal Bhutto engages in dialogue with the PTI,” Adviser to Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah told Geo News on Tuesday. He said if the PPP chairman managed to secure PTI’s commitment to participate in the talks, the government would have no issue to reconvene the Parliamentary Committee on National Security Committee meeting.

“Bilawal Bhutto is already part of the government, and if talks between PTI and the ruling coalition succeed, it will eventually be a success for the government itself,” he clarified, also confirming reports that the PML-N had demanded a share in power in Sindh from the PPP.

A day earlier Mr Bhutto-Zardari had urged PM Shehbaz Sharif to convene another meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, even after a month, to build national consensus for combating terrorism.

He highlighted the need for national unity to counter the rising tide of terrorism and called upon the prime minister to take on board all political parties, including those who skipped the earlier sitting of the committee.

He said the building consensus on national issues had become difficult but “we must unite to fight terrorists. All political stakeholders must come together for the country and nation instead of preferring personal interests”.

The PTI-led major opposition alliance, Tehreek Tahaffuz-i-Ayeen Pakistan, had chosen not to attend the recent security huddle, citing the absence of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan.

The parliamentary committee’s meeting, also attended by Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir and DG ISI Lt Gen Asim Malik, was held against the backdrop of rising terrorism, including the hijacking of the Jaffar Express in Bolan district of Balochistan.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2025