NA speaker agrees to Gohar’s proposal for formation of negotiation committee

• Sadiq says Gohar acknowledged speaker’s role as custodian of house.
• NA speaker emphasises solution to country’s issues lies in dialogue. 
• Gohar says he hopes  committee will be formed by today.

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has announce accepting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Barrister Gohar Khan’s suggestion to establish a parliamentary committee for the potential dialogue between the government and the opposition party. 

“Following PTI’s recommendation to create a negotiation panel, the prime minister has been approached to form a government negotiation team,” he said in response to a question regarding Barrister Gohar’s remarks from an earlier media talk. 

Sadiq said that PTI chairman had acknowledged the speaker’s role as the custodian of the house and requested that he actively participate in the negotiations.

“I accept Barrister Gohar Khan’s proposal to form a negotiation committee,” he said.

The speaker emphasised that the solution to the country’s issues lies in negotiations. “We want to resolve the problems, and political instability must come to an end,” he said.

Earlier, Gohar, while speaking to media outside a court in Islamabad, said that the NA speaker had assured him of formation of a committee for talks. He hoped the committee will be formed by today (Sunday). 

“Negotiations will take place as they are the only solution,” he said.

In response to another question, Gohar said the civil disobedience movement will also be implemented.

NA speaker’s statement comes after his recent offer to mediate between the government and the opposition, stating that his office and home are always available for this purpose.

The parliamentary committee will be entrusted with full authority to deliberate on key negotiation points and make decisions regarding government-opposition discussions, the sources added.

Currently, the PTI accuses the government of not being serious about negotiations, while the government maintains that talks cannot proceed under the threat of civil disobedience or deadlines.

However, it is pertinent to mention here that PTI founder has already formed a committee — comprising leaders from the party — to engage with the government, which reflects the party’s realisation that the current policy of confrontation could not be continued indefinitely.

Despite all this, a high-level backchannel meeting was also reportedly held between the two sides. 

An informed source confided to The News on Friday that the meeting was attended by two important players of the government, including a minister and an official. The PTI side was represented by a key leader of the party.

Amid prospective talks between the PTI and the government, it also came to light that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif might be open to negotiating with arch-political rival and PTI founder Imran Khan.

Significant progress has been reported behind the scenes with the government, the PTI and the establishment all expressing readiness for dialogue.

Nawaz, who holds considerable influence and whose approval will be key to any progress in the prospective talks, had previously rejected the possibility of dialogue with the PTI along with his daughter and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz with both labelling the former ruling party as a disruptive entity.