LAHORE: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party has formed a three-member committee — including former ministers Pervaiz Khattak, Ejaz Chaudhry, and Mian Mehmood ur-Rasheed — to engage in a dialogue with Jamaat-i-Islami on the political crisis in the country.
This development comes after Siraj ul-Haq, leader of the religious group, launched a “consensus offensive” aimed at bringing the government and opposition closer, announced Asad Umar, secretary general of the party.
موجودہ سیاسی بحران سے نکلنے کے لئے کل چئیرمین عمران خان اور سراج الحق صاحب کی ملاقات کے بعد جماعت اسلامی سے مذاکرات کے لئے تحریک انصاف کی 3 رکنی کمیٹی تشکیل دے دی گئی ہے۔ کمیٹی کے رکن پرویز خٹک، اعجاز چوہدری اور میاں محمود الرشید ہوں گے۔ pic.twitter.com/vB1le5Vg50
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) April 16, 2023
Haq recently met with former prime minister Imran Khan and his successor Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore, where he suggested the creation of a committee to develop a larger consensus for holding elections in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and eventually the whole country.
Khan has accused the government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition of trying to get him out of the way to contest the elections after thousands of his supporters have been picked up from across the country.
Elections in Punjab, as well as in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — due on May 14 — were announced after the dissolution of the parliaments of both provinces which together account for 70 percent of the nation’s population.
The two assemblies were governed by PTI. Khan had called for their dissolution in a bid to force early national elections in Pakistan which are scheduled for October. The government of Sharif has dismissed the demand, saying the vote will take place as scheduled later in the year.
During the meetings, both Sharif and Khan appreciated Haq’s efforts and assured him of their full cooperation. They agreed that elections were the way forward to pull the country out of prevailing economic, political, and constitutional crises.
Reports citing sources within Jamaat have also revealed that Haq plans to meet with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari after Eid ul-Fitr and is hopeful for a breakthrough in the next two weeks.
Haq is committed to bringing all parties to the negotiating table and finding a solution to the political crisis.
