ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The government and the opposition reported a major breakthrough in their talks on Saturday, raising the prospect that the PTI’s long march on Islamabad, due to begin on Sunday, could be called off.
Both delegations agreed in principle on the points under discussion and began preparing a written draft, correspondents reported from Parliament House. A joint press conference was expected to announce the agreed points. If the talks succeed, the two sides will also give written guarantees, sources said.
No formal announcement had come by late Saturday night. According to reports, the sitting ran for more than four hours and that official word on the outcome was still awaited.
Inside the Speaker’s chamber
The second round was held in the chamber of National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, who chaired it. It had been set for 2pm but began late.
The sitting turned tense and heated at times, The Lahore Times reported. The two teams broke off to consult separately, the government side with senior officials and the prime minister, the opposition with its senior leaders. They then returned to the table.
The NA Speaker played a key role when tempers rose. Sadiq personally looked after the delegations’ hospitality on both days, he said, and ice cream was served on Friday “to cool things down”.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi kept the participants briefed on the overall situation, The Lahore Times reported. He called the outcome a “win-win situation” and said the draft had been finalised and the signing was almost complete.
Who sat at the table
The government team included Naqvi, Amir Muqam, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Rana Sanaullah and Tallal Chaudhry, according to reports. Sherry Rehman, Naveed Qamar and Aijaz Jakhrani represented the PPP.
The opposition side comprised Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan, Amir Dogar, Asad Qaiser, Salman Akram Raja and Haleem Adil Sheikh.
What each side wants
The government and its PPP allies want the march called off. The opposition wants PTI founder Imran Khan, held in Adiala Jail, moved to a hospital for treatment, Dawn reported, citing sources on both sides.
PTI has also pressed for opposition leaders Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Raja Nasir Abbas to be allowed to meet Khan, and for the release of his sisters and detained party members. The party protested at the Supreme Court in August over Khan’s health and his pending cases.
That jail meeting is the open question. According to sources, the government had agreed to it and that the opposition had given its nod to calling off the march. According to reports, Achakzai told PTI leaders no decision could be announced until the meeting with Khan had taken place.
How the standoff built
PTI announced the march in August, setting it for September 27, against what it calls the illegal imprisonment of its founder. In the week before that date, party leaders were detained in Punjab and Islamabad, and Punjab banned the use of state resources for the march. The party then postponed the march to October 4.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has led the party’s street campaign, taking it into Sindh and to Lahore, where his rally led to a standoff with police. He was due to lead the march from Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat at 1pm on Sunday, with stops in Karak and Kohat before reaching Peshawar on October 6.
The stakes rose last week. Federal ministers warned that governor’s rule or an emergency could be imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reports said. The decision to open talks was taken on Thursday at a meeting at the presidency attended by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Friday’s first round was the first formal sitting between the federal government and PTI in almost three years, according to reports.
PTI is not the only party looking to the capital. Jamaat-e-Islami ended its Lahore sit-in in September and turned its focus to a long march on Islamabad.
What a deal would change
Anwar Abbas said the biggest gain is that the country has come out of a state of “chaos and uncertainty”. Residents of Islamabad had been seriously worried about the march and the containers, he said.
The breakthrough has lowered the political temperature and shown that such disputes can be settled through dialogue, he added. It should also help end the rumours and give the public some reassurance.
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