The federal government has turned down a request from National Assembly Opposition Leader Mahmood Achakzai for a neutral location to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Officials insist the meeting must be held at the PM Office. Adviser to the prime minister on political affairs Rana Sanaullah set out the government’s stance on Saturday.
Sanaullah said the Prime Minister House belongs to the state and cannot be treated as the property of any individual. He added that no alternative venue would be arranged, and he described the opposition leader’s insistence on another location as unacceptable.
Government insists the PM Office is the only venue
Shehbaz renewed his invitation to the opposition to resume negotiations during the joint sitting held last week, where he met Achakzai and shook hands with him. The premier also raised concern about the year-long delay in appointing the chief election commissioner and the members of the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Sanaullah said similar demands had been made in the past and called such insistence inappropriate. He added that the premier had written two letters to the opposition leader on the appointments. According to him, the government is waiting for Achakzai’s reply and wants him to say when he will visit the PM Office.
Emergency vote and opposition’s exit from talks
The joint session was convened on October 15, when treasury lawmakers approved the imposition of an emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by majority vote. The opposition alliance Tehreek Tahaffuz Aiyeen-e-Pakistan later announced that it was ending negotiations with the Centre, citing what it called unconstitutional measures.
Conditions for talks with PTI and terrorism claims
On the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Sanaullah said unconditional negotiations with the party founded by Imran Khan were possible. He ruled out talks, however, if the party made the withdrawal of the emergency a precondition. He also said PTI had never given negotiations a real chance, and that the arrangement put in place under the emergency would be allowed an appropriate amount of time.
Sanaullah said the government would keep its counterterrorism campaign going with full commitment. He said discussions with PTI could take place if the party cooperated in that fight.
Separately, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, speaking to the media in Jaranwala, said the government had not stopped PTI from holding a long march. He urged the party to hold talks on terrorism instead and said the government had made every possible effort to make negotiations succeed. He argued that terrorism should be condemned in all its forms.
Chaudhry said several politicians and members of various religious parties had been targeted in terrorist attacks, and claimed that no PTI leader or gathering had ever faced such an attack. He also referred to remarks the jailed PTI founder was reported to have made about opening an office for the banned TTP in Pakistan. The minister claimed the banned group had issued a press release opposing governor’s rule and expressing support for PTI. He said the aim of governor’s rule was to eliminate terrorism from the province, and vowed that state institutions would act against those supporting terrorist groups.
