ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Wednesday reiterated his offer to facilitate a dialogue between the government and the opposition parties.

The offer was made by the speaker at a time when the opposition members belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) were protesting in the assembly during the passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill.

Addressing PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, the speaker stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while addressing the House, had repeatedly invited the opposition to hold talks. Besides this, he said Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar had also extended similar invitations on multiple occasions.

“I, as speaker of the National Assembly, am ready to facilitate dialogue between the government and the opposition,” said Mr Sadiq, emphasising that “when both sides sit together, solutions will emerge.”

“Even if no outcome is achieved on the first day, continued dialogue will eventually lead to positive results. It is my responsibility to provide a platform for both sides to engage in talks,” he added.

Responding to remarks made by Gohar Ali Khan, the speaker said, “When your side proposed the formation of a negotiation committee, you did not approach me. The prime minister, demonstrating magnanimity, constituted a high-level negotiation committee comprising all coalition partners.”

The committee, he recalled, held three meetings, and it was not the government but the opposition that boycotted the process.

“The process of dialogue must continue it will yield better outcomes. My role is to facilitate; the decision ultimately lies with you”, he declared. “I have defeated your leader twice in elections. In the recent election, not a single petition was filed against me neither challenging my victory nor the results from my constituency. How, then, can it be said that we are not the true representatives of the people?”

He urged the opposition to accept his invitation for talks, stressing that “constructive engagement will bring solutions, while confrontation will lead nowhere.”

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2025