Govt-PTI talks: Meeting with Imran first, Achakzai insists

Government and opposition negotiators reached an agreement on Saturday over the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s planned October 4 march to Islamabad, but opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai stressed that the party’s final decision would come only after a meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan. Sources said the PTI had agreed to withdraw from the October 4 march after the government assured the opposition that its leaders would be allowed to meet Imran Khan. However, Achakzai spoke to PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser by phone after the talks and told them that no final announcement or decision should be made before meeting Imran Khan, according to sources. “First, there will be a meeting with the founder and then a decision will be made, ” Achakzai told the PTI leaders, according to the sources. He also asked the PTI leadership to make it clear that no decision on the march could be announced without meeting Imran Khan. The development came after the second round of government-opposition talks at the National Assembly speaker’s chamber. Sources described the negotiations as successful and said a joint statement would be issued shortly. Government and opposition leaders are also expected to address the media after the joint statement. The government had asked the PTI to call off its planned march as part of efforts to advance the dialogue process. The PTI, meanwhile, had linked any decision to postpone or cancel the march to access to Imran Khan. The second round began after a delay of nearly two hours. The government delegation included National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, Federal Ministers Mohsin Naqvi and Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Prime Minister’s Adviser Rana Sanaullah and PPP representatives Sherry Rehman, Naveed Qamar and Ejaz Jakhrani. The opposition delegation included Gohar, Qaiser, Senate Opposition Leader Raja Nasir Abbas, Salman Akram Raja, Haleem Adil Sheikh and Aamir Dogar. Before the formal talks, Gohar and Qaiser had met an important government figure, according to sources. The meeting focused on the opposition’s demands and possible government responses. The first round of negotiations was held at the speaker’s chamber on Friday, when both sides presented their respective positions on the political situation and other issues. The PTI had initially scheduled its march for September 27 but later moved it to October 4. Earlier on Saturday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had reiterated that the PTI would proceed with the march from Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat towards Islamabad. Further details of the agreement are expected to be announced in the joint statement.

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