ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the federal government started talks regarding the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and long march in the federal capital at the Speaker Chamber at the National Assembly, the sources close to the development said on Friday.
The both sides comprising senior leaders are sitting to reach any agreed point ahead of the long march.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) formed a new six-member opposition delegation for talks with the government after opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai declined to visit the National Assembly speaker’s chamber for negotiations.
Mahmood Achakzai maintained that he would participate in talks with the government only if they are held at a neutral venue.
The sources said that however, the PTI leadership has rejected his demand and finalised a new team to negotiate with the government and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
The delegation will include PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Raja Nasir Abbas, Asad Qaiser, Salman Akram Raja, Aamir Dogar and Haleem Adil Sheikh.
Barrister Gohar confirmed that the opposition team would comprise six members and said the names had been approved by the PTI’s political and core committees.
He said the opposition delegation would meet the government’s negotiating team at the office of the National Assembly speaker on Friday (today).
Earlier, the reports emerged that the federal government would hold consultation to review the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and deliberate on the possible imposition of governor’s rule or emergency in the province.
The reports said that the government was deliberating governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In this regard, the consultations were expected on the possible use of constitutional provisions, including Articles 233 and 234, in connection with an emergency or governor’s rule in the province.
Article 234 deals with a situation in which the constitutional machinery of a province is considered to have failed.
Federal ministers alleged that the KP government is pursuing political objectives and is not providing institutions with the required support to counter the threat posed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The KP Chief Minister’s House, however, rejected the allegations, maintaining that the federal government would not be able to stop the planned long march and that the protest would go ahead as scheduled.
PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Secretary Shaukat Yousafzai separately wrote to party Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Tuesday, urging the leadership to further postpone the march in view of the prevailing security situation and warning of the possible imposition of emergency rule.
