ISLAMABAD: Leaders of Pakistan’s two top opposition parties on Wednesday pledged to use all democratic and constitutional means required to unseat the government while holding a meeting in the country’s southern port city of Karachi that witnessed massive urban flooding only a few days ago.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif said in a Twitter post that he was visiting Karachi to express solidarity with its residents who suffered a great deal due to heavy monsoon rains.
“Here to express my solidarity with the people of Karachi who braved the worst conditions created in wake of heavy downpours and urban flooding,” he wrote on the social media website. “All stakeholders need to sit together to work out a comprehensive and doable plan to uplift the megacity. Politics can wait for another day!”
Sharif visited the top Pakistan People’s Party leaders, Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto, along with other senior party members to discuss the country’s overall political situation.
The meeting was followed by a joint news conference that was addressed by the leaders of the two parties who vowed to strengthen democratic institutions by ensuring constitutional supremacy in Pakistan.
Referring to the Charter of Democracy signed between former prime ministers, Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, on May 14, 2006, in London, PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said that the document required the two parties to rise above their political interests and defend democracy in the country.
The opposition leaders also claimed that the fundamental rights of Pakistani citizens were being violated under the incumbent administration and vowed to resist that while staying within the constitutional framework of the country.
The joint press conference also announced that the PPP would host the Rehbar Committee meeting on Thursday to decide the date for the All Parties Conference (APC).
Apart from criticizing the performance of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, leaders of the two parties also targeted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) that is investigating several high-profile opposition politicians.
The two political factions, who already claim that the anti-graft references against their leaders are politically motivated, decided to resist arrests of their party members by NAB.
Leaders of Pakistan’s top opposition parties to deliberate on anti-government strategy
https://arab.news/g2ytj
Leaders of Pakistan’s top opposition parties to deliberate on anti-government strategy
- PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif meets PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto in Karachi
- The two parties claim the fundamental rights of Pakistani citizens have been usurped
Imran Khan’s party seeks ‘confidence-building measures’ after government’s talks offer
- PTI says access to jailed founding leader essential for talks to be considered credible
- Government says it’s ready for dialogue but nothing will happen until Khan favors the idea
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party said on Saturday it would only consider the government’s offer for talks credible if it is accompanied by “concrete confidence-building measures,” such as unhindered access to its founding leader in a high-security prison in Rawalpindi.
Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the government was fully prepared to hold a dialogue with Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to address political polarization that has deepened since the downfall of the PTI administration in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022.
PTI has frequently complained about a state crackdown against its top leadership, including Khan and his wife, who are serving prison sentences in multiple cases ranging from corruption charges to inciting violence against state institutions and attacks on government properties.
Sharif’s offer for talks came amid media reports that PTI wanted a dialogue with the government, though he noted that negotiations would not be allowed to proceed on the basis of “blackmailing” or unlawful demands and would only cater to legitimate issues.
“Announcements of talks, without concrete confidence-building measures, cannot be treated as credible progress,” Azhar Leghari, PTI’s central deputy information secretary, told Arab News.
He recalled that Khan had authorized Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas to carry forward with the dialogue process, adding that talks “require trust, and trust cannot be built at the cost of constitutional rights or democratic legitimacy.”
“For dialogue to be meaningful, it is essential that these authorized representatives are allowed regular and unhindered access to Imran Khan so that any engagement accurately reflects his views and PTI’s collective position,” he added.
Khan’s family, party and legal team have complained in the past they are stopped by the authorities from meeting the ex-PM in prison. Last month, they also raised concerns about his health, prompting the officials to allow one of his sisters to meet him, who said he was fine.
Shortly thereafter, a scathing message was posted on his social media account, criticizing the army chief. Khan’s post elicited a bitter response from the government and the military amid accusations of inciting people against state institutions.
Leghari’s comments came only a day after Rana Sanaullah, adviser to Prime Minister Sharif on political affairs, said PTI’s “second- or third-tier leadership” wanted dialogue, but nothing was going to happen until Khan favored these negotiations.
He also maintained that while the government was ready for talks, “uncertainty and delays from PTI are preventing progress.”
Meanwhile, a newly formed National Dialogue Committee of former PTI leaders told Arab News it had organized a session on Wednesday, January 7, in the federal capital that will bring together all major political parties, journalists, lawyers and representatives of civil society.
“Our goal is to bring political leaders together so that, while discussing their own issues, they can collectively seek solutions to the nation’s challenges,” Mahmood Baqi Moulvi, a Pakistani politician and member of the committee, said.
“The initiative also builds on previous efforts, including a letter to the prime minister requesting confidence-building measures to enable talks with PTI,” he added.
The National Dialogue Committee had urged the government in the letter to grant parole to jailed party figures in Lahore, including former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Dr. Yasmin Rashid, describing the move as vital for building trust ahead of negotiations.
It had also maintained such a step “would not only create an extremely positive, conducive, and trust-filled environment for the negotiations but would also lay a strong foundation for restoring mutual confidence among all stakeholders.”
While the government has also offered dialogue in the past, PTI leaders have conditioned participation on substantive measures, including what they describe as an end to politically motivated prosecutions and arrests, restoration of fundamental rights, respect for judicial independence and a credible roadmap toward free and fair elections.
“Reconciliation is possible, but it must be based on correcting injustices rather than managing optics,” Leghari said. “A genuine reset requires restoring respect for the Constitution, ending political victimization and allowing democratic processes to function without interference.”
Rana Sanaullah and Deputy Law Minister Barrister Aqeel Malik did not respond to requests for comment.
