Govt-Opposition Talks Hit a Wall: Achakzai Says No Deal Without Meeting Jailed Imran Khan

PTI founder Imran Khan

Talks between Pakistan's government and the opposition alliance have stalled over where to meet — and over the opposition's demand for access to jailed PTI founder Imran Khan. Federal Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said on Thursday that the agenda of a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai matters more than its venue.

The opposition alliance Tehreek Tahaffuz Aiyeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) has proposed holding the meeting in Parliament's Constitution Room rather than the Prime Minister's House. Achakzai said he would go wherever he is invited, but insisted that meaningful negotiations are impossible without a meeting with Imran Khan.

According to reports, a formula for the talks had been agreed after deliberations involving Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Raja Nasir Abbas and Barrister Gohar. But the opposition says the government instead announced governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, rather than arranging the promised meeting with the jailed former prime minister.

The deadlock leaves the much-anticipated dialogue in limbo, with the venue dispute now standing in for a deeper question: whether the government will let the opposition's key leader sit at the table.

Source: The News International — read more

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