The committee meeting was postponed indefinitely, while the spokesperson of the government committee, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, said that if the PTI came for talks today, the way could have been opened for them.
The spokesperson of the government committee formed for talks with the PTI said that today was the fourth session of the negotiation committee. We waited for the PTI in the chamber of the Speaker of the National Assembly. A message was sent by the Speaker but they did not come.
He said that the PTI has practically ended the negotiation process. Opinions were taken from constitutional and legal experts on the PTI’s demands. The final answer has been prepared but it was decided not to release it.
Senator Irfan Siddiqui said that this committee will remain in place until January 31. If the PTI sits, we are ready. PTI made a unilateral decision. The process that PTI started itself ended. Our committee showed patience and tolerance. Civil disobedience and attacks on the army were tolerated.
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He said that we saw to what extent the demands could be accepted, we had left a lot of space in the response, if he had come today, the path could have been opened for him, why did PTI break the promise to come to the committee, the committee was formed by the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister will dissolve it, there will be no contact from us, the Speaker can contact.
Irfan Siddiqui said that this committee will remain in place until January 31, if PTI sits, we are ready, PTI made a unilateral decision, PTI itself ended the process it started.
He said that this committee is neither waiting nor demanding to come, if they come themselves, they are ready to sit.
Earlier, a consultative meeting of the government negotiation committee was held in the office of the Speaker of the National Assembly, the government committee meeting considered the situation after PTI’s response of not attending the negotiation session today.
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The Speaker of the National Assembly informed the government negotiation committee about the contact with PTI.
Meanwhile, members of the government negotiation committee arrived to attend the meeting, Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq also arrived to attend the meeting, but no PTI member attended the meeting.
Talking to the media, Rana Sanaullah said that there is no other way except negotiations, PTI will have to come to the negotiating table, this attitude of PTI has been for ten to twelve years, PTI’s demands can be discussed, if PTI responded in public, we also had to respond.
The negotiation committee will remain, we will wait for PTI to come, Ayaz Sadiq
After this, the Speaker of the National Assembly once again contacted Asad Qaiser and Omar Ayub by telephone and invited them to participate in the negotiations once again. The Speaker sent the Joint Secretary to the opposition chamber to come for negotiations. On this, PTI, after consulting with the senior leadership, asked them to inform about the negotiations.
After this, the meeting of the government negotiation committee ended as soon as it started. 6 members of the government negotiation committee attended the meeting.
After the meeting, Speaker of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq, while talking to the media, said that after 7 working days of the previous meeting, notices were sent to the members. It was expected that PTI people would come today. We waited for 45 minutes and also sent a message.
Ayaz Sadiq said that the negotiation committee will remain intact, we will wait for the PTI people to come.
Deputy Prime Minister Senator Ishaq Dar said that we have a positive mindset and intention, even before, negotiations were held, the 126-day sit-in also ended after negotiations, it was expected that the PTI friends would come today. We do not want to make a unilateral statement in their absence.
He said that the meaning of negotiations is to sit and talk, prepare a response to the demands within the scope of the constitution and law, if their intention is right, then we will be encouraged, if the PTI people come, we would share our answer with them.
Ishaq Dar said that we had prepared for the negotiations, we wish that the opposition members would come, it is not appropriate that they have decided, I hope the opposition will contact the speaker back in the committee, it is not appropriate that we make a unilateral statement.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that negotiations mean sitting down and talking, if he had come today, we would have submitted a written reply to the Speaker first, we should take each other seriously, there was no raid at Hamid Raza’s house.
Senator Ishaq Dar said that the police had gone to provide security for the press conference.
If the government announces a judicial commission, we will sit down for negotiations, Shibli Faraz
PTI Senator Shibli Faraz has said that when the government announces a judicial commission, we will sit down with it for negotiations.
While talking to the media outside the Parliament House along with Senator Ali Zafar, he said that parliamentarians should speak on the floor of the House where they can give their suggestions. Unfortunately, today in the Senate session, only the Leader of the Opposition was allowed to speak. The Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the House can rise and speak at any time. The opposition is being completely ignored in this House.
Shibli Faraz said that when the country is suffering from political and economic instability, there will be no endless series in it, the government wants these negotiations to fail, and has wasted days on written demands.
The PTI leader said that we have appreciated the role played by the Speaker, the real question is who will make the decisions for the negotiations, when the judicial commission is announced, we will sit in on the negotiations, if they say that we will form a judicial commission and release political prisoners, we will sit.
He said that whether it is the PECA bill or any other bill, it cannot be passed without discussion, it should be done. Stakeholders have not been taken on board in this bill, at this time, parliamentarians have also become unnecessary, if we are not allowed to speak in the Senate, we will speak to the public in front of us.
Shibli Faraz said that according to these amendments, if any opinion is disliked, then the journalist can be put in jail and can also be punished. The target of this bill is not only PTI and journalists, but also anyone who wants to speak the truth.
He said that they are standing against this bill because it is against the constitution. We wanted it to be amended and today we had prepared it. Our words were not accepted and were rejected. According to Article 10, every person should have a fair trial. The case made under the PECA Act will go to a tribunal. The government can change this tribunal at any time.
Earlier, the spokesperson of the government negotiation committee, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, while talking to the media, said that there are 7 parties in the government negotiation committee. The leaders of the remaining parties cannot be tied down.
He said that if any compromise has to be made according to their demand, they will do it. If they do not come, then it is obvious that it is their final decision that they have ended the talks. There are 7 parties in the committee, we cannot keep them imprisoned. If they are reluctant to meet, then we will consider dissolving the committee.
On the other hand, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, while talking to the media, said that I am not a part of the negotiation committee, but if PTI has refused, then the exercise will be futile.
He said that if the government negotiation committee wants to wait for PTI, then it is a different matter. There is no room left due to refusal. The channels of negotiations should always be kept open. Closing the channels of negotiations is against the spirit of democracy.
Will wait for PTI till next election 2029, Rana Sanaullah
Advisor to Prime Minister and member of negotiation committee Rana Sanaullah said that if Imran Khan says he will sit with Mian Sahib, I assure you that Mian Sahib would give a positive response. A strange comment was made that Mian Sahib has become the twelfth player. Mian Sahib said on October 21 that wherever the country has reached, everyone will have to sit with their heads together.
He said that going to jail and meeting is another thing, Nawaz Sharif did not adopt a stubborn attitude on national issues, Mian Nawaz Sharif also went to the hospital and home to take care of Imran Khan, the parliamentary democratic system moves forward through negotiations, not through deadlock.
He said that the path they wanted to take out of the road on November 26 was not taken out before and will not be taken out in the future. If we do not understand this now, we will harm ourselves and democracy. Whenever there is a way out, it is to come out of the negotiation table. If Sangjani had sat down on November 25, a way out would have come out of the negotiations. PTI made a mistake again today by walking out of the negotiations. We will wait for PTI until the next elections in 2029. The Prime Minister has also said to adopt the path of negotiations.
Rana Sanaullah said that PTI should stick to its word but the negotiations should not be boycotted.