Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Thursday called the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s January 31 meeting deadline “face-saving” and said the government was “not taking it seriously”.

Earlier today, PTI’s negotiating committee set a deadline for the government after meeting the party’s founder at Adiala jail and reiterating demands for a judicial inquiry into the May 9 and November 26 late-night riots, suppression and release of “political prisoners”.

“The founder of PTI [Imran Khan] is ready to forgive all the mistreatment he suffered in the interest of Pakistan,” Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza said while talking to reporters after the meeting.

Raza, who is also part of the PTI dialogue, also noted that the first phase of the civil disobedience movement, the “remittance boycott”, would remain in place despite talks with the government.

Speaking on private channel Chaneel, Tarar claimed that the Imran Khan-founded party was giving the government an ultimatum to “save face” as it had suffered “political defeats”.

In response to a question, he claimed that the PTI’s call to overseas Pakistanis to stop sending remittances met the same fate as its “last call” protest in Islamabad last month.

He went on to say that such calls would not make a difference as the former ruling party had faced several setbacks, including the 26th Constitutional Amendment and the do-or-die protest.

The jailed former prime minister last month called on his supporters to launch an anti-government movement by withholding transfers in the first phase.

To another question, the federal minister categorically denied that the jailed PTI founder was offered any deal in which he would be placed under house arrest or shifted to a prison in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where his party is in power.

His remarks came as the government and opposition began a much-anticipated negotiation process in the Houses of Parliament earlier this week, after months of heightened political tension.

Irfan Siddiqui appointed spox of government committee

In another development, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif today appointed Senator Irfan Siddiqui as the spokesperson of the government’s negotiating committee.

The committee is tasked with holding crucial talks with the main opposition party to resolve political and national issues.

An integral part of the negotiating committee, Siddiqui also serves as the chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Advisor to Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah, Senator Siddiqui, PPP leaders Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Naveed Qamar and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Farooq Sattar attended the constituent meeting from the government side.

While PTI was represented by former NA Speaker Asad Qaiser, SIC chief Raza and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) Allama Raja Nasir Abbas.

The two sides are scheduled to hold a second meeting on January 2, when the PTI will present its demands in writing to the government panel.