LAHORE: Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has named a three-member committee to engage with the other political parties in line with the “consensus offensive” launched by emir Jamaat-e-Islami Sirajul Haq a day earlier.
The committee comprising of Pervez Khattak, Mian Mahmood ur Rashid and Senator Ejaz Chaudhry would enter into negotiations with the other political parties to end the prevailing political impasse in the country. JI emir Sirajul Haq launched a “consensus offensive” on Saturday, holding meetings with PM Shehbaz Sharif and PTI chairman Imran Khan within a span of a few hours and signalled “positive response” to his initiative aimed at bringing the warring sides to negotiation on the issue of elections, from both sides.
Haq’s meetings with PML-N, PTI leadership
Sirajul Haq first called on Sharif and later met Khan at their residences in Model Town and Zaman Park respectively. As political observers see the Zaman Park meeting as a major breakthrough on the way to prospective consultations among the two sides, Imran Khan said his party is always ready for dialogue within the ambit of the Constitution, but not with the corrupt and looters of national kitty.
During their meeting, Haq suggested a committee should be formed to develop a larger consensus for holding elections in Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and eventually the whole country. Siraj claimed he received positive response from both sides as he has a plan to meet Zardari after Eid. Both Haq and Khan agreed to continue consultations on a regular basis, according to the sources.
As part of his efforts to bring all parties to the negotiating table, emir JI plans to meet Pakistan Peoples’ Party leader Asif Ali Zardari after Eid and expects a headway in the next two weeks. Both the premier and Khan appreciated Mr Haq’s efforts and assured him of their full support, agreeing that polls were the way forward to pull the country out of the prevailing political, economic and constitutional crises.
Sharif said his party was ready to cooperate with Jamaat-e-Islami if the latter wanted to play a positive role on the issues of vital importance, according to a Jamaat’s press release.
