Amid one of the worst political and judicial crises, a group of civil society organisations is making efforts to bring all warring political parties to the negotiating table.
The opposition PTI has stated that it is willing to participate in their planned multi-party conference (MPC) and support constitutional changes about elections if elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are not feasible within the constitutional time frame of 90 days due to the deteriorating security situation and financial constraints.
Separately, PTI Chairman Imran Khan has once again refused to engage in a broad conversation with the government about a variety of issues, including the economy and elections, and has suggested that his team, not him, might do so if the goal is to conduct elections by itself.
Imran Khan, PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari have each received invitations for the proposed MPC from more than 100 civil society organizations, including the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), and Pakistan Federation of Union of Journalists (PFUJ).
Mr. Khan has so far given his approval for his party to join the conference, whose date has not yet been revealed.
As a first important step, the so-called “mediators” from civil society will meet with a few parties affiliated with the governing Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on Monday (today), following which they will conduct a press conference to inform the media of the meeting’s results.
Imran once again refuses to sit with govt in grand dialogue; Fawad says ready to assist regime in avoiding constitutional crisis
When reached, PTI senior representative Fawad Chaudhry stated that his party wanted elections to be held in accordance with the Constitution and that they were willing to meet with the authorities to discuss this.
He said the authorities would need to amend the Constitution if they believed that the current economic and security conditions did not allow the ECP to conduct elections in Punjab and KP on April 30. According to Mr. Chaudhry, his party was prepared to help the government escape a constitutional crisis in exchange for this.
We can assist the government in passing constitutional changes with a two-thirds majority because “we cannot bear violations of the Constitution.”
Farhatullah Babar, a seasoned politician, and former PPP senator said the mediators were making a solid effort to end the crisis through the agreement of all political forces. However, he claimed that the job was challenging.
‘Will not sit with govt’
“I will not sit with the government. And if any dialogues are held on the issue of elections alone, my team, not me, will participate,” PTI chief Imran Khan said while responding to questions in an interview on the news website Urdu.com on Sunday.
“The dialogues should only be held on one point of elections alone. However, I will not sit with those whom I use to call thieves and corrupt,” he clarified. “And if the talks don’t go towards holding elections, then there is no benefit of dialogues,” he added.
He referred to polls as the country’s top concern and stated that they must be held in accordance with the Constitution within the next 90 days, which are passing quickly.
“Constitutional law is being broken. There is therefore no need for talks if someone is not abiding by the Constitution. Therefore, stop discussing elaborate discourse. Holding elections in accordance with the legislation and the Constitution, please,” he urged.
