After a long-awaited meeting with the jailed founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in a “controlled environment”, the former ruling party on Sunday said it was ready for a third round of talks with the government to ease political tensions in the country. Addressing a joint press conference alongside senior PTI leaders Omar Ayub Khan and Asad Qaiser, Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza, who also serves as the spokesperson of the negotiating team, urged the government to advance its demands during the coming period. meeting. round of dialogue. He called on the government to set up an “impartial judicial commission” headed by a senior judge of the Supreme Court to investigate the events of 9 May 2023 and 26 November 2024. The May 9 riots erupted nationwide following the arrest of the ousted prime minister in a £190 million settlement case, which led to the arrest of hundreds of PTI workers and senior leaders for their alleged involvement in violent incidents and attacks on military installations. During the unrest, protesters targeted civilian and military sites, including Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. The army condemned 9 May as a “black day” and announced plans to try those involved under the Army Act. In November, Khan issued a “last call” for protests, demanding the restoration of PTI’s “stolen mandate”, the repeal of the 26th Amendment and the release of political prisoners. The PTI claims that at least 13 of its workers were killed and 1,000 others arrested during the protests. However, the government categorically denied the use of live ammunition against the protesters. During an interaction with reporters today, Raza said, “We are ready for the third round of talks.” He called on the government’s negotiating team to work on creating a judicial commission before the next round of dialogue. “There has been no progress in the negotiations yet,” he said, stressing the need for the government to act on their demands, especially the establishment of a judicial commission. Emphasizing that the release of political prisoners and the formation of a judicial commission were integral parts of their demands, Raza said PTI would submit its two demands in writing to the government team during the upcoming session. Raza warned that the dialogue will not continue unless a judicial commission is established and the former ruling party does not extend the deadline for talks with the government beyond January 31. “Show the CCTV footage if you [the government] think PTI is responsible [for the May 9 violence],” he demanded. When asked, Raza said that their meeting with Khan was held in a “controlled environment” and that they got the go-ahead for the meeting late on Saturday night. When asked further, he explained that two members of their team – Hamid Khan and Salman Akram Raja – could not reach the venue in time due to fog in the area. Raza also noted that the verdict in the £190 million corruption case could create bitterness, but Khan directed them to ensure that the verdict did not disrupt the ongoing negotiation process. He stressed the need for practical steps and said their demands were “reasonable and viable”.
