Political negotiations in Pakistan hit snag with opposition boycott

Negotiations between Pakistan's government and ex-premier Imran Khan's opposition party have hit a deadlock after the latter failed to attend Tuesday's fourth round of scheduled talks.

The government committee, led by senior officials, waited 45 minutes before adjourning the meeting due to the absence of opposition representatives.

Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said the government had set no preconditions for dialogue and remained hopeful that negotiations would resume soon. “My doors are open to both the government and the opposition,” Sadiq told reporters after the meeting.

The talks, which started late last year, aimed to cool political instability ahead of the judgment in the land corruption case against former prime minister Imran Khan.

Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party primarily demands the establishment of two judicial commissions—one to investigate the events leading to his controversial arrest in August 2023 and another to probe violent protests, including the May 9, 2023, demonstrations where his supporters rampaged through military offices and installations.

However, PTI called off negotiations with the government last week, citing a lack of progress on its demand for the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the D-Chowk firing incident.

The government committee had gathered to address key demands from the PTI, but no progress could be made in their absence. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar criticized the opposition’s boycott, calling their actions “inappropriate” while expressing optimism that talks would continue in the near future.

The government has already submitted its response to the PTI's demands and plans to provide a detailed press briefing in the coming days. Dar emphasized that the government was ready to move forward constructively but noted that dialogue required participation from all sides.

The speaker dismissed allegations of a raid on the house of Hamid Raza, a PTI member of the National Assembly, stating that no such action had taken place. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah also denied reports of any raid on Raza’s residence or seminary.

The PTI had alleged that the Sunni Ittehad Council chief, also a PTI ally, was targeted in a raid.

“We have decided to halt the negotiation process following the raid on the home of the negotiating committee’s spokesperson, who is also our ally. This is an attack on the negotiating committee itself. Negotiations carried out in bad faith cannot succeed,” Imran Khan stated on X last week.

Despite the deadlock, Sadiq reassured that the government’s negotiation committee would remain intact and reiterated his hope that both sides would return to the table. “We are still open to discussion,” he said.

‘PTI ended negotiation process’

Government negotiation committee spokesperson Senator Irfan Siddiqui addressed a news conference following the meeting, saying, “Today was the fourth session of the negotiation committee. We waited for the PTI in the speaker's chamber, and a message was sent by the speaker, but they did not come. The PTI has practically ended the negotiation process.”

Siddiqui stated that the committee had consulted constitutional and legal experts on the PTI's demands and prepared a final response, but it was decided not to release it.

“This committee will remain in place until January 31. If the PTI is willing to sit together, we are ready. The PTI made a unilateral decision and ended the process it started. Our committee has shown patience and tolerance despite civil disobedience and attacks on the army,” he said.

He clarified that while the government committee is no longer actively seeking contact, they are still open to negotiations.

“This committee is neither waiting for nor demanding the PTI’s return. If they choose to come, we are ready to engage. We had left significant room for dialogue in our response, and if they had joined today, opportunities could have been created for them. Why did the PTI break its promise to join the committee?”

Siddiqui emphasized that the negotiation committee was formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and only he can dissolve it. “There will be no contact from us, but the speaker may contact them,” he concluded.