PTI Rejects Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's Offer for Talks

In Islamabad, Pakistan, the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has turned down an offer from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to resume discussions and form a parliamentary committee to resolve ongoing conflicts. This decision was announced by Omar Ayub, a top PTI leader and Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly, during a program on Geo News.

Ayub emphasized PTI's demand for the release of their "political prisoners" and stated that their demands were clear. On the other hand, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, representing the government's negotiation committee, criticized PTI for ending the talks, describing it as a missed opportunity to fulfill their demands.

Previously, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had expressed his willingness to engage in talks with PTI and proposed forming a parliamentary committee to address the issues. During a federal cabinet meeting, Sharif mentioned that PTI had submitted written demands through the National Assembly Speaker, which the government intended to respond to in writing. However, PTI canceled a scheduled meeting on January 28.

Sharif highlighted the importance of responding to written demands in writing and recalled that after the 2018 elections, a parliamentary committee was formed to investigate election concerns. He urged PTI to resume talks and collaborate on forming a new committee to examine the elections held in 2018 and 2024.

The National Assembly Speaker, Ayaz Sadiq, had invited both PTI and government representatives for a fourth round of talks, but PTI did not attend. The government announced that its negotiation committee would wait until January 31 for PTI to reconsider its decision to end the talks.

Discussions between the government and the opposition began in December to ease political tensions, with three meetings held so far.