Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan shake hands during a National Assembly session on Thursday, June 26, 2025. Photo: X/Government of Pakistan
ISLAMABAD:
The government on Thursday renewed its invitation to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for a dialogue while reiterating that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s earlier offer of talks to Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai remained on the table, signalling flexibility over a key point of contention by saying negotiations could be held at a venue proposed by the opposition.
The development came after National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq met PTI Chief Whip Amir Dogar in the Parliament House. Following the meeting, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said in a statement on X that the government’s invitation to PTI and the prime minister’s invitation to the opposition leader remained valid, and urged the opposition to take the offer seriously. He said meaningful dialogue was the only way to resolve political issues and that negotiations could be held at a venue proposed by the opposition.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) spokesperson Yousafzai said Dogar had briefed him on his meeting with the Speaker. According to Yousafzai, the discussion focused on three issues: the schedule for the next National Assembly session, the government’s renewed offer for dialogue, and the Speaker’s request for the opposition to return to parliamentary committees.
Yousafzai said the opposition alliance had conveyed that the decision to boycott parliamentary committees had been taken by PTI founder Imran Khan and could only be reversed by him, adding that the alliance’s leadership was not authorised to change that decision on its own.
The venue has been a recurring sticking point since talks between the two sides stalled earlier this year. The government had proposed holding negotiations at the Prime Minister’s House, a location PTI and TTAP leaders rejected, insisting any dialogue take place inside Parliament. Thursday’s statement from Chaudhry marks the government’s clearest concession yet on that question.
Responding to the government’s latest offer, Yousafzai said the government should have accepted the opposition’s position on venue months ago, arguing that doing so would have prevented months of deadlock over the dialogue process.
He said the opposition alliance remained ready for negotiations if the government was sincere, but stressed that opposition leaders must first be allowed to meet Imran Khan before formal talks begin.
“How can we negotiate with the government without consulting our leader?” Yousafzai said, adding that access to Khan would serve as a confidence-building measure, allowing opposition leaders to discuss the agenda with him and seek his guidance on the evolving political situation.
Yousafzai said the opposition had already shared its agenda with the government and maintained that the proposed negotiations were aimed at resolving political issues rather than seeking a power-sharing arrangement.
TTAP, the PTI-aligned opposition alliance that now speaks for the opposition in negotiations, formally authorised Achakzai, the sitting Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, and Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas to lead any talks with the government earlier this year, after Imran Khan delegated that authority to them.
