SANER elements heaved a sigh of relief over possibility of serious engagement between the Government and the PTI after failure of the ‘do or die’ call of the party to press for its demands but there are clear indications of lack of sincerity to sort out issues through negotiations. This effectively means continuation of the tense political atmosphere with implications for the economy and prospects for investment and growth.
It is ironical that the hopes raised by a meeting of the PTI delegation with Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq have not materialized, apparently due to lack of clear signals from the top leadership of the party. The founding Chairman of the PTI formed a five-member team for talks with the government but according to one of the prominent party leaders Sher Afzal Marwat Khan’s remark of “all is well” damaged the party’s efforts to engage in negotiations with the government. Imran Khan’s comment came on Thursday when he expressed frustration with his party leadership for failing to devise a clear strategy for a protest at D-Chowk. The leadership of the party came under pressure and changed its tone after IK expressed surprise over the ‘calm’ atmosphere outside the prison stating “I got the impression that there was a friendly atmosphere outside the prison and everyone was living happily.” This is evident from the statement made by the Chairman of the party Barrister Gohar Khan that the call for civil disobedience has not been withdrawn, adding it was made by Imran Khan and only he can recall it. It was in this backdrop that Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has insisted that the government would initiate negotiations with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) only after a “clear message” from the former ruling party’s incarcerated founder Imran Khan. As pointed out by the Minister there are clear contradictions within the PTI on the issue of talks with the Government and no progress can be made without clarity on the issue. In fact, both sides are not showing the required level of seriousness on the issue of talks and the country and its people will continue to suffer because of prevailing uncertainty giving rise to wild speculations.
