By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has proposed an all-inclusive dialogue involving political parties, including the rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and state institutions to tackle the country’s deepening political and economic crises, but his call for cooperation faces opposition from within his ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party over engaging with the jailed opposition leader Imran Khan.
Sharif’s call for unity came after a meeting of the party’s top brass at the Model Town headquarters on Saturday, where leaders discussed strategies to deal with rival PTI and jailed Khan.
“All political parties, governments, and institutions should join hands in decision-making… [They] …need to sit together to steer the country out of crises,” Sharif said in a statement.
The proposal comes amid efforts by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to reach out to Maulana Fazlur Rehman, whose party has decided to launch a solo campaign against the government, declining to join forces with other opposition parties.
However, not all PML-N leaders agree on engaging with the PTI.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal ruled out talks until the PTI apologizes for last year’s May 9 riots that targeted military installations.
“How come talks can be held with the party (PTI) that brought a US Congress resolution through an Indian lobby against Pakistan, and was involved in the May 9 riots?” Iqbal asked.
The country’s powerful military has recently indicated it is open to allowing political parties to hold negotiations to resolve national issues. The military, however, also demanded a public apology from the former premier and his party for the May 9 violence.
Khan has refused to apologize for the violence, that erupted after his brief arrest in a graft case. Khan said he was under detention at the time and was unaware of the May 9, 2023 protests.
Since his ouster from office in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April 2022, Khan was booked in dozens of cases and was convicted in four of them. Two of the cases have since been suspended and he was recently acquitted in the remaining two, but the authorities have since brought new charges against him. His party and legal team have been struggling to get him out of prison.
Khawaja Asif, another PML-N leader, said, “I am against holding any talks with the PTI.”
Observers said divisions have emerged within the PML-N over the possibility of engaging with the PTI. One faction advocates for dialogue to reduce political tensions and restore stability, citing economic interests. In contrast, another group believes that engaging with the PTI would compromise the PML-N’s position, potentially ceding political ground to their rivals in the country’s political heartland Punjab.
PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah said he met Mahmood Achakzai, head of the opposition parties’ alliance, which includes PTI, and relayed Nawaz Sharif’s regard for him. Achakzai has been mandated by the alliance to engage in talks with the government. “I asked him to get along with the PML-N,” Sanaullah said.
Sanaullah also clarified that neither Achakzai nor the PML-N was under any impression that the former was mandated to speak on behalf of Imran Khan. “How come we seek dialogue with PTI when it categorically said it would not hold talks with us.”
PTI leader Asad Qaiser expressed skepticism about the government’s offer, citing mixed signals and uncertainty. “We will respond once we receive concrete proposals,” Qaiser said, adding that any talks would need to be held on a point-by-point basis, with each agenda item addressed separately.
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