Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to present two initial demands in meeting with govt on January 2

Pakistan''s National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq will chair an in-camera meeting between the negotiating teams of federal government and PTI on January 2, Dawn reported citing a notification issued by the National Assembly Secretariat on Monday. This will be the second meeting between PTI and the government.

The notification said that Sadiq "will chair a 2nd meeting (in-camera) on negotiations between Treasury and Opposition on Thursday, the 2nd January, 2025 at 11:30am" at the Parliament House.

According to sources, PTI had decided to pursue two initial demands in the talks scheduled for January 2, which includes release of under trial political prisoners and the establishment of a judicial commission to conduct investigation into the events of May 9, 2023 and November 26.

Background discussions with party leaders revealed that it was annoyed by the "illogical and absurd statements" issued by the government ministers regarding the talks and wanted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to review its "nonsensical approach and create a favourable environment for talks", according to Dawn report.

Sources said that PTI will share their demands with the government in writing on January 2 and is hoping for a resolution of these issues as confidence-building measures, before moving forward.

Earlier, Sunni Ittehad Council Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza, one of the PTI''s main parliamentary allies, said that the party will give the government a time period until Jan 31 to conclude the negotiations.

Raza said, "The cut-off date for negotiations is Jan 31. On January 2, when our committee meets the government to continue the negotiations, Omar Ayub will formally give them this deadline," Dawn reported.

Earlier this month, PTI founder Imran Khan had formed a committee to hold talks with the government over party''s demands, which included Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub, former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser, Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur and SIC chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza.

However, Asad Qaiser, the SIC chief and MWM''s Senator Raja Nasir Abbas represented PTI at the meeting held in December. Meanwhile, the team formed by Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif to hold talks with the PTI comprises Pakistan''s Deputy PM Ishaq Dar, PM''s political aide Rana Sanaullah, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders Raja Parvez Ashraf and Naveed Qamar, and IPP leader Aleem Khan, PML-Q leader Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Balochistan Awami Party''s Sardar Khalid Magsi and MQM-P''s Farooq Sattar. (ANI)