The negotiations come amid continued tensions following PTI’s announcement of an Islamabad march. Although the protest was postponed from September 27 to October 4, the standoff between the federal and provincial governments remains unresolved.
According to the NA spokesperson, detailed discussions were held on the country’s political situation, with the government, PPP and opposition apprising each other of their respective positions. Various matters were discussed in detail and with patience, the spokesperson said.
The second round of negotiations will be held at 2pm on Saturday in the speaker’s chamber, the spokesperson added. The government and PPP stressed the need to resolve national issues with the opposition through negotiations.
According to the statement, the NA Speaker played a key role in facilitating negotiations between the government, PPP and the opposition.
Federal minister Amir Muqam, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry attended the meeting. Senator Sherry Rehman and NA members Naveed Qamar and Ijaz Hussain Jakhrani also participated.
Opposition leaders PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Malik Amir Dogar and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser, as well as Salman Akram Raja, attended the meeting.
The round of talks resumed after the Friday prayers as the PTI delegation returned to the speaker’s office. Special prayers for the success of the negotiations were also offered at Parliament after Friday prayers
The negotiations later went into another break as members of the government and PTI committees held separate consultations. The government delegation remained in the conference room while the PTI delegation moved to the meeting room, with both negotiating committees holding consultations over the situation.
The government committee also deliberated on PTI’s demands. The PTI delegation subsequently returned to the conference room and negotiations between the two sides resumed
Ahead of the negotiations, Barrister Gohar said whether the party’s planned long march went ahead would depend on the government’s attitude. He said PTI was going into negotiations with the government in good faith and had set no preconditions for the talks.
Gohar said the party would first listen to the government before presenting its own position. He said governor’s rule or an emergency was not a solution to the long march, adding that a minister had said on Friday that governor’s rule could be imposed even without the march
Gohar said whether the long march took place would depend on the government’s attitude. He thanked Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) for accepting an invitation to the All Parties Conference (APC).
Gohar said free elections, inflation and the people’s right to govern were among their demands, adding that the party was seeking justice every day. He said PTI had not received justice from either Parliament or the judiciary
The PTI chairman said the party had previously cooperated in the fight against terrorism and would continue to do so. He also said the federal government had never formally written to the provincial government to inform it about any issue.
Speaking to the media before the government-opposition negotiations began, Talal urged political parties not to create problems for the country by acting according to the wishes of any one party. He expressed hope that opposition parties would withdraw their call for a long march, saying the problems faced by ordinary Pakistanis, rather than those of political parties, should come to the fore
Talal urged political parties not to create problems for the country by being driven by a single desire. “May Allah make it so that the opposition parties withdraw the call for the long march and the problems of ordinary Pakistanis should come to the fore, not those of political parties,” he added.
Separately, Sanaullah said matters concerning the courts had to be decided by the courts, while political matters could be resolved through dialogue. He said the two sides could discuss whatever issues they wanted at the negotiating table and that the government would respond in accordance with political principles and the law.
Sanaullah said it was not appropriate to suggest that one could write to the prime minister but could not meet him, adding that such thinking harmed political tolerance.
The government’s joint negotiating committee held an informal meeting before the talks, with members discussing legal aspects of the negotiations and other issues expected to be raised with PTI.
The talks followed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s decision to engage the opposition, with the government and the PPP forming a joint negotiation committee. The move came as PTI prepared for its October 4 long march.
Ahead of the formal talks, PTI and other opposition leaders met JI Chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman at the residence of JI leader Mian Muhammad Aslam.
The meeting was attended by Barrister Gohar, Abbas, Qaiser and Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, while the JI chief was accompanied by JI leaders Liaqat Baloch, Mian Muhammad Aslam and Nasrullah Randhawa. The leaders discussed the prevailing political situation, the proposed all-parties conference and the October 4 long march.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Abbas said the All Parties Conference’s (APC) agenda was to find a way out of the country’s crisis and expressed hope that all political parties would join efforts to address the situation.
Hafiz Naeem said JI had accepted the invitation to attend the APC and would support consensus on a national agenda covering peace, law and order and the economy. “Pakistan belongs to no one party or institution,” he said, calling for an end to bloodshed.
The JI chief opposed governor’s rule or emergency in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and any move to suspend the Constitution. He called for meaningful negotiations between the government and PTI and said concerns over PTI founder Imran’s health should be addressed.
Hafiz Naeem also called for the implementation of Supreme Court decisions in letter and spirit and demanded the release of women arrested in connection with the protests, including Imran’s sisters. He also called for there to be no obstacles to bail for PTI leaders.
Barrister Gohar said the opposition had approached JI as a united political front and would enter talks with the government without preconditions. “We will meet the government with complete sincerity,” Gohar said.
He said the final decision on the long march and its next steps would depend on the government’s attitude. Gohar also said the K-P government had not received its due NFC funds despite increasing the capacity of its police force.
Also before the talks, Tariq said the prime minister had invited the opposition to negotiations and that the government’s doors remained open for dialogue. He said the government would enter the talks with positive expectations and that dialogue was preferable to confrontation.
He urged the opposition to adopt a political approach and avoid an “onslaught” on Islamabad, while calling on the K-P government to play its role in countering terrorism.
Talal said the government had never hesitated to hold talks and that ego had never come in the way of negotiations. “Both the PML-N and PPP have always tried to resolve issues through dialogue,” he said, expressing hope that the opposition would not miss the opportunity for negotiations.
The talks came after weeks of escalating tensions between the federal government and the PTI-led K-P government over the party’s planned October 4 march on Islamabad. PTI had initially announced the protest for September 27 but later postponed it to October 4, while the Centre had increasingly discussed constitutional options, including governor’s rule and emergency, citing the deteriorating security situation in the province.
The government and PPP subsequently formed a six-member committee to engage the PTI, with the opposition also signalling willingness to negotiate but insisting on dialogue without preconditions. Barrister Gohar confirmed that the two sides would meet at Speaker Ayaz Sadiq’s office, while maintaining that the long march would proceed unless the party’s concerns were addressed.
The prospect of federal intervention in K-P had become a major point of contention, with federal ministers citing the province’s security situation, while PTI leaders rejected governor’s rule or emergency and called for political engagement instead. K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi also said the October 4 protest would remain peaceful and rejected warnings of federal intervention.