The second round of government-opposition talks in Islamabad ended in a deadlock early Sunday, raising fresh uncertainty over the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s planned October 4 march to the capital. The hours-long negotiations, held at Parliament House, began after 4pm on Saturday and continued into the early hours, with discussions focused on the PTI’s planned protest and related security concerns.
Both sides had largely avoided public statements during the talks, seemingly agreeing not to speak to the media before matters concluded. But shortly before 3am on Sunday, Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, a member of the opposition delegation, told reporters waiting at Parliament House that the talks had not succeeded in a breakthrough. “Deadlock,” he said in footage aired on Geo News.
Asked about the points of contention, Abbas described them as “small things.” He said the “issue” of meetings with PTI founder Imran Khan could not be solved. The deadlock, he explained, was over Imran’s meeting with his personal physicians, and how to address terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said the talks had now ended and that a detailed press conference would be held later.
Separately, PPP’s Sherry Rehman, who also participated in the talks, said the government delegation debated all points with the opposition. “Unfortunately, the draft [agreement] was changed four times after it was agreed upon,” she told Geo News, adding that she would not go into details.
Speaking to reporters, PTI interim chairman Barrister Gohar Khan said the party’s long march was “intact” and would go ahead. He asserted that imposing an emergency or governor rule was not the answer to the protest. He further said the participants had also not reached an agreement on when the next round of talks would take place.
Gohar said the opposition’s demands presented during the second round of talks were “simple” and included meetings with Imran and his spouse, Bushra Bibi. He noted there were a few issues pertaining to terrorism, where the negotiating pr…
The deadlock leaves the political impasse unresolved as the PTI prepares for its October 4 march, with no date set for further negotiations.
Source: Dawn News