ISLAMABAD: A high-level committee comprising senior coalition government members has been formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to engage in talks with the main opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which has warned of launching a civil disobedience movement if demands are not met.
The committee includes Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Rana Sanaullah, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Naveed Qamar, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Abdul Aleem Khan and Chaudhry Salik Hussain.
A committee — comprising leaders from PTI — to engage with the government, had already been formed by the PTI founder Imran Khan weeks ago, which reflects the party’s realisation that the policy of confrontation could not be continued indefinitely.
The prime minister, on the other hand, formed the negotiating body on recommendation of National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.
The development comes less than a day after the NA speaker confirmed reaching out to the premier for the formation of the dialogue committee, after assuring PTI of playing a role in mediation, which accused the government of not being serious about negotiations.
“I accept Barrister Gohar Khan’s proposal to form a negotiation committee,” he said.
Sadiq said that PTI chairman had acknowledged the speaker’s role as the custodian of the house and requested that he actively participate in the negotiations.
According to the sources, parliamentary committee will be entrusted with full authority to deliberate on key negotiation points and make decisions regarding government-opposition discussions.
It may be noted that the development took place amid looming civil disobedience movement by PTI, which says it will launch the first phase of the campaign today (Sunday) if their demands are not met.
Meanwhile, the government maintains that talks cannot proceed under the threat of civil disobedience or deadlines.
This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.