Breakthrough unlikely as third round of talks over polls due Tuesday

While former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s PTI is pressing for early elections, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling PDM favours allowing the legislative houses to complete their full term before general election.

By Naveed Naqvi

ISLAMABAD: The third and decisive round of talks between the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and former Prime Minister Imran Khan’ Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) over the date of general election is set to take place here on Tuesday.

However, due to the diametrically opposed stances of the parties, there is little possibility of a consensus emerging at the session regarding holding the general elections on the same day.

The ruling coalition strongly favours the position that the assemblies must complete their term. Khan’s PTI is pressing for early elections, and therefore premature dissolution of the Sindh and Balochistan provincial assemblies as well as the National Assembly.

The PTI is widely believed to favour staggered polls, allowing Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces to elect new assemblies and probably new governments before elections to Sindh and Balochistan provincial assemblies and the National Assembly.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar will head the committee of the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition and Shah Mehmood Qureshi will head the PTI team in these negotiations at the Parliament House.

Meanwhile, none of the parties seems to have paid any attention to Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani’s request not to make offensive statements.

Sadiq Sanjrani had asked both sides not to make any of harsh statements until the talks reach a conclusion, because such statements tend to derail the negotiations. However, given the climate of deep mutual distrust, neither PTI nor PDM seem ready to heed Sanjrani’s call.

Sources close to the negotiations say there is no possibility of any progress regarding the dissolution of the National Assembly in May as the ruling coalition has made known its intention to announce the budget 2023-24 in any case. The national budget will be presented in the National Assembly in the first week of June.

Government sources said that the general elections can be held on the same day in the whole country in September only if the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) – the ruling parties in Sindh and Balochistan – agree.

They argue that the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) cannot take a decision on the matter on its own because it must give coalition partners due voice in the process. Needless to say, the ruling coalition and its component parties favour completing the term of the assemblies.

The government on its part has said that it will decide the future course of action after receiving the response of PTI on Tuesday.